Life Renewed, Love Renewed
by Madcap Minstrel
Summary: Takes place directly after the events in Us & Them.  After Jenova's defeat, Sephiroth and Aeris find themselves stranded light years away from home.  Forced to start over once again, they face their new challenges as they've always done: together.  NOW COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I decided to post up a couple of side-stories taking place within the "Ripples" timeline. I may also post one up about Tifa and her starting life over in Midgar. We'll see. : )

WARNING: This story will not make any sense unless you have read my first story "Us & Them". I suggest you read that first if you haven't already.

* * *

Chapter 1

_Alive…_

Just one word was music to Sephiroth's ears. It had meant that his ultimate nightmare hadn't come to pass.

Aeris was alive again, thanks to the doctors' frantic efforts to revive the clinically dead girl. She was by no means, out of the woods, they had told him, but she had been somewhat stabilized.

It had been pandemonium when the swordsman had arrived suddenly through the gateway carrying two dead bodies. Upon arrival, Sephiroth had discarded the blue-skinned body he'd carried in one arm, and ordered the shocked technicians to forget about that woman, begging him to save the other one.

The people of Cetra blood had panicked and run off at the sight of the first woman, whose blue skin was the tell-tale sign of a deadly illness, known in this world as Id's Death. He knew all too well the reason why: there was no vaccination available to the Cetra, and at best, the illness would render them incapacitated for at least a month. At worst, they would either die, or mutate beyond recognition, turning them into savage monsters with no recollection of their previous life as a sentient being. It was the same virus that had all but eradicated the Cetra from his home planet.

He had passed through the gateway, his usual stoic demeanor present, even after he'd nearly broken down upon discovering that Aeris had slipped away.

However, he'd completely lost it when he decided that the workers weren't working fast enough getting Aeris to a hospital. He had screamed at them, sworn at them, and threatened them with the Masamune. He'd then watched helplessly as the doctors at the hospital they'd reached finally wheeled her into the ER.

He'd been in a semi-dazed state when Professor Gast and Ifalna burst into the waiting room with an escort from the Cetran Galactic Government. He'd absently let them embrace him, and answered their questions about Aeris as best as he could. Then the doctor had come out and let everyone know that Aeris was breathing again.

That did it for Sephiroth, and for the first time in his life, the swordsman had passed out from complete mental exhaustion. He'd been moved to his own bed in the hospital, where he'd stayed in for no more than a couple of hours before he'd tried to see Aeris. He was stopped by the same doctor, who gently explained to him that while Aeris was alive, she was still in bad shape. For now, the girl was in a coma. How long it would last, no one could say. As it was, it was practically a miracle she was even alive again at all.

Eventually, Sephiroth was allowed to see Aeris. The teenager had been hooked up to various pieces of machinery, and was breathing with the aid of a respirator.

There he sat for a good five minutes, staring silently as the respirator and heart monitor provided the only sounds in the room.

"I'm sorry…" he found himself saying.

He took a good look at Aeris. The girl who loved to just run in a field and soak up the sun was now as pale as the sheets on her bed. Her skin and hair were soaked with sweat, and her partially open eyes stared vacantly at the ceiling, blinking involuntarily from time to time.

"I let her get the best of me when you needed my protection the most," Sephiroth continued, "If I'd been in top form, I could have stopped Jenova from piercing your shoulder and infecting you. But I let her get to me…"  
He glanced at her still form.

"You wouldn't think it now with all those tubes you're hooked up to…" Sephiroth found himself saying, "But it's hard to resist temptation...it's why I left you in the first place to go to Midgar.

"I've always prided myself on my self-control. But with you…I always felt as if somehow, I _could_ lose control. And this is why you're here. Because I was afraid I might do something terrible. Maybe it was the virus threatening me, since I felt much better after the vaccination…before that…had you kissed me before that…I don't know what would have happened…

"I'm sorry I have to be telling you this when you're unconscious. I know it's being rather cowardly…but I'm…just…worried that I might never get another chance,"  
He paused for a moment, and then stood up.

"Please…" he pleaded softly, "Don't leave me…"

Cursing himself mentally for acting so vulnerable, he left the room.

* * *

"Fries?" Professor Faremis Gast offered a small basket to Sephiroth. 

"I didn't know they had fries here," Sephiroth mumbled, "No thanks,"

"They've got another name I can't pronounce for the life of me," Gast chuckled, "I'll stick with calling them fries,"

Sephiroth nodded absently as he looked around the cafeteria they sat in. Leave it to the professor to joke in such a terrible situation. He remembered the day they all had to flee Icicle Inn after Hojo had tried to abduct the family. Gast had begun telling corny knock-knock jokes just to ease the tension in the plane, and wouldn't stop until his wife had given him a certain look. A look that Sephiroth had long-since figured meant that the professor had better shut up if he wanted to sleep in the bedroom that night.

"Okay, I have…something that resembles something between a casserole and a salad…if that's even possible," Ifalna Gast announced as she sat down with a tray of food.

She and the professor ate silently, while Sephiroth stared out into space.

"Seph…"

The swordsman glanced at Ifalna.

"Tell us about her," the Cetra pleaded softly, "Anything. Bad, good, embarrassing, it doesn't matter. What did she do on her last birthday? What does she like to do for fun?"

Sephiroth closed his eyes and sighed. "Maybe I'll tell you what happened after Vincent saved Aeris and myself from Hojo's men,"

Ifalna's eyes were misty. "That's fine," she said, "Tell us…please,"

Sephiroth nodded and cleared his throat before he began to speak:

* * *

"_Sephiroth, Aeris," Vincent said to the two children, "I'd like you to meet the Masons,"_

"_Hello, Aeris,"the woman said cheerfully as she knelt down in front of the little girl, "It's nice to meet you,"_

_Aeris smiled. "It's nice to meet you too," she said, putting her hand out, which the woman happily accepted and shook._

"_You'll both be staying here with them for the time being," said Vincent, "I trust you'll both behave?"_

"_Yes, Mr. Valentine," Aeris said obediently._

_Vincent cleared his throat. "Aeris…we've known each other for a few weeks now. Why not just call me Vincent?"_

_Aeris giggled. "Okay, Vincent,"_

"_I've got business to take care of,"Vincent announced, "I'll make sure to stop in and see how you two are doing,"_

_"We'll be fine," Sephiroth said irritably._

"_I'll be the judge of that," Vincent retorted as he walked away._

"_Bye, Vincent!" Aeris called after him, "Thanks for the slushies! My tongue's still purple, see?? BLEAHH!!" she stuck her purple-streaked tongue out._

_Vincent waved back at her, not turning around._

"_Hey, how about we go inside and we can show you your rooms?" the man suggested._

_Sephiroth nodded, and he and Aeris followed the couple inside._

* * *

"_Sephy, stop hogging all the water!" Aeris begged as she stood behind Sephiroth, watching the teen drinking water from a hose in the Masons' backyard._

"_You can have it in a minute," Sephiroth told her, "You should be grateful that the Masons even have plumbing. Most families here don't,"_

"_EW!!" Aeris exclaimed, "Don't put your mouth on it! I don't want your cooties!"_

_Sephiroth rolled his eyes, but held the hose away from his mouth, attempting to catch the stream of water instead._

_Aeris was beginning to lose her patience. Looking around impatiently, she spied the faucet that the hose was connected to. A devilish grin crept up on her face, and she quietly made her way over._

_Grasping the handle, she turned the faucet all the way. Water began blasting out of the hose, spraying Sephiroth right in the face. With an exclaimation of surprise, the teen dropped the hose, spitting water out. He then glared at Aeris, who was shrieking with laughter._

"_Oh, really funny," he said as he picked up the hose, "See how you like it!" He aimed directly at Aeris._

_The little girl let out a squeal as the cold water hit her. Ducking out of the way, she kept running, but was unable to outrun the hose._

"_No, Sephy, stop it!!" she begged as he kept spraying her._

"_Stop what?" Sephiroth asked innocently._

"_STOP SPRAYING ME!!!!" Aeris wailed._

"_Will you let your big brother drink from the hose as long as he wants?"_

"_Yes!"_

"_And who is the greatest swordsman on the Planet?"_

"_My big brother Sephiroth!"_

"_Right answer," Sephiroth said as he reached over and turned the water off, "Still thirsty?"_

"_THLPBLTTTT!!!" Aeris blew a raspberry at him and stalked off._

"_Oh, we can dish it out, but we can't take it, is that it…?" Sephiroth teased as he followed her._

* * *

Ifalna smiled ruefully as she wiped her eyes with a napkin. 

"I'm just glad to know she recovered well enough," said Gast.

"She was a bit depressed when her eighth birthday came," Sephiroth told them, "Fortunately, we'd made a friend while living in Cosmo Canyon. Oh- Professor…Bugenhagen sends his regards…"

"Ah, Bugenhagen," Gast recalled fondly.

"We became friends with his grandson Nanaki. When he saw how sad Aeris was on her own birthday, he was able to round up all of the local children. That evening, she had the wildest party an eight-year-old could ever have, right by the Cosmo Candle. Tag, hide-and-seek, kickball, and all the junk food you could eat,"

"That sounds nice," Ifalna said wistfully.

The three were silent for a while.

"How long?" Sephiroth said softly.

His former surrogate parents glanced curiously at him.

"It's been four days now," Sephiroth continued, "We come here, kill time, sit with her, listen to the doctors telling us there's no change, go back to inn next door, and sleep. How much longer are we going to keep this up?"

"Until she wakes up, Sephiroth," Ifalna told him.

"That's not good enough," Sephiroth growled as he stood up suddenly and left the room.

Ifalna began drumming her fingers against the table restlessly.

"Are you all right?" Gast asked her, "You've seemed anxious ever since we arrived at the capital,"

"How can you stand it?" Ifalna asked suddenly.

"You mean about Aeris?"

Ifalna shook her head. "No…it's just…this place is an artificial world. An incredibly large floating space-city, really. There aren't any actual planets around…how can you stand the silence? What were the other Cetra thinking when they first built this place?"

Gast looked at his wife, momentarily puzzled, until he realized what she was talking about.

"You can't hear the voices of any planets," he concluded.

"The one on Beud A'evori welcomed me," said Ifalna, "It actually took time out to welcome me. And the feeling I got from it…it was so different from our Planet, but comforting all the same. No matter what happened, I always had the words of the Planet to help me. And now…"

"I'm still here," Gast reminded her.

Ifalna grasped her husband's hand with her own. "I know," she whispered, "I know…if you weren't here…Faremis, I don't know what I'd do. Even if Aeris pulls through, we still don't know her. She's seventeen now. Sephiroth has changed…she probably has also. Sephiroth seems so…bitter now. He never was the most sociable kid, but at least he seemed to be at ease. Now, he's always on edge,"

"He's worried about Aeris," Gast reminded her, "Perhaps if the two had arrived here safe and sound, things would be different,"

"Maybe you're right," Ifalna sighed.

"Have a fry," Gast offered her the basket.

Laughing despite herself, Ifalna reached in and took one.

* * *

Sephiroth wandered the city streets aimlessly, glancing around him occasionally. 

The Cetran galactic capital was certainly a melting pot if anything. People of all shapes and sizes moved about the streets, busy with their own daily lives. Some were Cetra; he could tell by glancing at their bright, shining eyes. Others glided about with two wings protruding from their backs- obviously Seraphim. He also noticed a few women with long, furry rabbit-like ears, and had encountered a shopkeeper resembling a giant lizard with dog-ears.

_Aeris would probably incur the wrath of one of these people if she were walking here with me…_Sephiroth thought…_She'd stare at every one of them despite herself…_

Sephiroth desperately pushed the thought out of his head, trying to find something to distract him.

He then stopped at a large bulletin board, noticing all of the flyers tacked on there. To his surprise, he discovered that he could read most of the notices posted, as they were in the original Cetran alphabet, which he and Aeris had both learned to read as children.

Personal ads, for sale ads…there really wasn't anything special as far as Sephiroth could see, until his eyes came to rest on one flier that seemed to have been recently posted.

_Stop being so helpless and actually _do_ something with your life! Job fair this week at Maduin's Marketplace! 2-6 p.m.!_

Sephiroth read the date of the event, and stopped a young Seraph.

"What's today's date?" he asked the boy.

Staring uncertainly, the kid told him the date.

"You wouldn't happen to know how to get to Maduin's Marketplace, would you?" Sephiroth asked.

He listened carefully as the boy gave him directions. Sephiroth then thanked the boy and took off toward his new destination.

_I think I _will_ do something, just as the flyer said_…he thought…_if I can't help Aeris, I can at least help my sanity. Hard work has always done me a world of good in the past…I need to get my head together…for Aeris…_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

On the edge of the Cetran Galactic colony planet known as Domus lay a small group of mountains, which had gathered a lot of attention in the past few months. Rich deposits of mythril ore had recently been discovered, and now everyone wanted a piece of the action.

One such individual was Kugri Moguta, a successful moogle tycoon who had decided to expand his investments to mining.

Sephiroth had tried not to gawk when he had originally met the man- er- creature, who had actually attended the job fair himself to pick out his miners. Up until that moment, he had thought the cuddly little creatures only existed in fairy tales and stuffed animals. Apparently, he had managed not to offend the moogle, as he had been one of the several men, and couple of women picked for the job.

"Well, Miss Layla Shoat!" Moguta greeted the woman coming over to meet him, "To what do I owe this honor? Surely an esteemed photographer such as yourself wouldn't be here to check out the mines, kupo?"

"You people don't give yourselves enough credit," the woman answered, "There's a lot to be said about these mines. All these people staking claims…some digging themselves, others hiring people to dig for them as you have. Rushes like this aren't a thing of the past like everyone would believe,"

"I see," the moogle nodded, "Well, do what you need to do,"

Miss Shoat nodded and began to snap pictures of the mythril mines surrounding her. She then began taking pictures of various workers who passed her, many only too-pleased to pose for the camera.

She then froze at the sight of a man emerging from one of the tunnels. He was pushing a cart full of ore. His long silver hair was filthy, and had been tied back. His bare, sweaty chest was also streaked with dirt, and he paused a moment to wipe his forehead.

Miss Shoat couldn't help but stare.

"Excuse me," she waved at Moguta, who promptly came over to her, "Who's that?" she asked, pointing ahead.

"Who?"

"That wingless Seraph man,"

"Oh, that guy. He's been working here about three months now. Honestly, that guy baffles me, kupo. He's got the brains to be working in some lab or office or corporation…yet he insisted on doing physical labor here. Granted, he's completely qualified for that as well. I don't know. I'm not about to ask him- he's not the most sociable guy,"

"Pity," the woman said with a smirk.

The moogle didn't miss the look on her face. "Don't go there, kupo. The man does have a sweetheart. We've all caught him looking at her photograph. Supposedly, she's in the hospital with Id's Death,"

"Ugh!" the Cetra woman recoiled, "The man's in love with a woman carrying tainted blood?! No wonder he's unsociable! He's obviously insane!"

"Well, he's still one of our best workers all the same, kupo,"

"Next, you'll be hiring escaped convicts to build these things," Miss Shoat muttered, "I'll be out of your way soon,"

* * *

Sephiroth took out a bottle of water and opened it up before chugging it down greedily. He'd been exerting himself all day. His shift was almost over. Soon, he'd go home, shower, change, and head over to the hospital.

During the three months that he had been living in the Cetran galactic capital, Aeris' condition hadn't changed either way. So off he went to work every day. The hard work, the physical stress, the strain, blocking out all the worry that crept back into his mind every time he clocked out.

After the hospital, he'd go home to the small apartment he'd rented, not far from the hotel that the Gasts were staying in, courtesy of the Galactic government. Sephiroth knew it was just the bureaucrats' cowardly way of keeping them quiet about the botched mission they'd sent their people on. They knew that the press would have a field day with the idea of two vulnerable children ripped away from their parents for ten years thanks to the blunders of several government officials. As it was, they were lucky that Medea and Reidmar, the employees they'd sent to investigate the old portal in the Forgotten Capital, simply didn't want to have anything to do with them anymore. It meant that they wouldn't be talking either.

They had offered various favors for Sephiroth, including his own room at the same hotel where his surrogate parents stayed.

"Just save Aeris," he had told them coldly, "I'll gladly keep my mouth shut about your incompetence if you can do that,"

The organization's representatives didn't look too happy to be insulted like that, but decided it was best not to further anger the man.

Finishing the water, he tossed the bottle into the nearest garbage can and went on his way.

* * *

Sephiroth put down the newspaper he had been reading. Ifalna and the professor had gone to the cafeteria to get some coffee.

He looked at Aeris again. Still the half-open eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. Her fevers seemed to be getting under control, as she had stopped sweating as much as she had in the beginning.

Restless, Sephiroth considered stopping by the newsstand and seeing if they had any interesting magazines. He'd still kept at his swordplay every morning before going to work, but he couldn't help but be curious as to the styles of fighting that might exist in all the other worlds. If Aeris recovered…no, he corrected himself, _when_ she recovered, he would have to look into that.

A small groan brought his attention back to Aeris. Was that just his imagination?

Suddenly, her eyes shifted, until they came to rest on Sephiroth.

The swordsman caught his breath, waiting to see if she would do something else.

Aeris' head turned to the side, until she was looking straight at Sephiroth.

"Aeris…? Are you finally awake?"

The teenager tried to move her hand, but gave up after a moment.

"I'll go get the nurse," Sephiroth said hastily as he stood up, nearly knocking the chair over, "Don't worry, Aeris- everything's going to be all right,"

He quickly backed out of the room and began yelling for a nurse to come.

* * *

"She's awake, yes," the doctor said as Sephiroth and the Gasts stood in the hallway in front of Aeris' room, "But she's still not home free yet. She still has the virus attacking her system, and the medicine we've given her is the only thing that's been holding it off. This medicine has some very strong side-effects. It's left her physically weak. She can't be exerting herself at all,"

"How long is this going to last?" Ifalna asked.

"Now that she's awake, a lot of the battle depends on her," the doctor told her, "If she's kept in good spirits, this stalemate between the virus and the medication will likely start to shift. I can't say how long it will take before she really begins to recover, but I'm sure she will.

"However, she may need physical therapy to help her get back on her feet. At this point, Aeris likely can't even sit up. I'm sorry to say that this hospital is going to be her home for at least another six months,"

Everyone looked grim.

"Can we see her now?" Gast asked.

The doctor nodded.

* * *

Sephiroth stood in the back of the room as he watched the professor and Ifalna with Aeris. The girl had tried speaking, but her voice was worn out from months of not using it, and she had only been able to manage a couple of words.

Meanwhile, her parents were trying to keep it together if only for Aeris' sake, but Sephiroth could tell that it was hell for them to not be able to embrace their daughter for fear of hurting her. He knew that it was torture for them to watch her lying there, completely dazed, barely able to speak. He couldn't help but feel a pang when Ifalna had told Aeris how much she still loved her, only to be met with a blank, drooling stare, and an unintelligible mumble.

"Once you're all better," Gast said, "We'll all have to go to the amusement park on the other side of town. I've walked past it several times, and I have to say, the Gold Saucer pales in comparison,"

Aeris stirred restlessly.

"What is it, sweetie?" Ifalna asked her, "Are you in pain?"

"S-seph…" Aeris whispered, "W-where's Sephy?"

"I'm right here," Sephiroth went over to Aeris and touched her arm.

Aeris looked at him.

"It's over?" she asked.

"All over," he reassured her, "You stopped Meteor by summoning the lifestream. So just get some sleep so you can feel better. Then you can come home with Mom and the professor. And we'll see about going back through the gateway. I know everyone's waiting to know how you are,"

"'Kay," Aeris yawned as she closed her eyes.

Sephiroth, Ifalna, and Professor Gast sat in silence for a few more minutes, each of them taking quiet comfort in the fact that part of the uncertainty was finally over.

* * *

"She's going to pull through," Ifalna said confidently as she and the professor walked down the streets leading to the hotel.

"Of course she is," Gast agreed, "You got your wish. Aeris _did_ grow up to be tough. I'm sure we can thank Sephiroth and Vincent for that,"

"We'll have to," said Ifalna, "Once Aeris is strong enough to travel, we can all head back home. I'm not sure where we'd live, though. Back to Corel…I don't really know,"

"Let's live in Cosmo Canyon," Gast suggested as the two stopped and stood on the sidewalk, "I have oh-so-many happy memories from there…like when I met this gorgeous, sassy young woman who turned my life upside-down…and then stole my heart…and eventually bore me that strong daughter we're both so proud of,"

"You're such a big sap sometimes," Ifalna teased him, "Let's go,"

The professor didn't notice the uneasy look on his wife's face.

* * *

Aeris opened her eyes to see what looked like a giant monster standing over her. Its body was large, and its long snout wrinkled as it regarded her curiously.

The girl opened her mouth to scream, but was too weak to manage even that. Instead, she grew stiff, and her breathing became shallow.

The creature looked at the monitor in alarm, which had begun beeping.

"Hey, calm down now, girl!" it spoke, its voice sounding somewhat feminine, "I didn't mean to scare you! You just woke up so suddenly. Here- I just brought you some breakfast- that's all,"

It gestured toward a tray that was resting on the table nearby. Aeris finally noticed the uniform she'd seen the other nurses wearing. She continued to stare, though she had relaxed a bit, and her breathing had returned to normal.

"You act as if you never seen a Bangaa lady before," the nurse chuckled.

Aeris shrugged helplessly. "Never did," she whispered.

The nurse leaned in closer and lifted up one of her earflaps. "What was that? Can't hear ya,"

"I've never seen…"

"OH!" the Bangaa woman exclaimed suddenly, "You're that Cetra/Hume hybrid from that little hillbilly planet everyone's been whisperin' about!"

"That's _human_," Aeris corrected her softly.

The Bangaa didn't hear her.

"So you're finally startin' to get better, are ya?" the woman said to her, "That's good. Very good. Well, just so ya know, my name's Va'Burra. Now, are ya hungry?"

Aeris nodded.

The Bangaa smiled, a rather frightening expression in Aeris' opinion, as she took the tray and fixed it to the girl's bed.

Aeris weakly tried to push herself up into a sitting position, until Va'Burra helped her up.

"Now, girl, you just woke up a coupl'a days ago," the nurse gently scolded her, "Don't be trying to do things yer not ready for. Now, open up,"

Aeris saw the nurse dip her spoon in what looked like applesauce, and held it up to the girl's face.

"I can do it myself," Aeris whispered.

"Er, no you can't," Va'Burra said in a no-nonsense tone, "Just the act of lifting the spoon to your face that many times could pull a muscle. You're weak…Aries," she finished as she tried to read the girl's name printed on the foot of the bed.

Aeris' face twisted into an angry scowl.

"My name…is _Aeris!_"

"Sorry," the Bangaa woman chuckled, "Feisty for someone who was in a coma for three months, eh? Something tells me you're going to do just fine…now open up,"

Dejectedly, Aeris obeyed.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

"Your hand has gotten warmer," Sephiroth commented as he held Aeris' left hand, carefully avoiding the IV it still had inside.

"Everyone says it used to be so cold…" Aeris said absently.

It had been a month since Aeris had come out of her coma. The doctors had finally noticed a change in Aeris' system. Now that she was awake, the medication was working overtime, and her condition had started to improve. Thus, the doctors had lowered the dosage last week, and Aeris wasn't out of it quite as often as she had originally been.

"Yes, it was," Sephiroth said patiently.

Aeris flexed her fingers and gave Sephiroth's hand a squeeze.

"I'm getting stronger too…" she giggled, "Maybe in a couple more weeks, I can sit up on my own, without anyone helping me…and hey- I can move my right arm even better now!"

She then grabbed Sephiroth's hand with her right hand as well, and then smiled as she let out a contented sigh.

Tentatively, he raised Aeris' right hand to his lips, giving it a quick kiss before setting it back down, but not letting go.

Aeris glanced at her right shoulder, and cringed. The scales had fallen off, but the blotches left behind on her shoulder hadn't disappeared. The doctors had told her it would unfortunately, be permanent.

"You look fine," Sephiroth reassured her, "Even your shoulder,"

Aeris looked up, mortified. "You saw my shoulder? When?"

"When you were still in your coma," Sephiroth went on, "They put you in a sleeveless outfit at first. Then the weather started getting cold, and they gave you warmer things to wear. But we all saw it,"

Aeris looked upset.

"It's hideous," she said sadly.

Just then, Va'Burra entered the room carrying a fresh IV bag. Behind her, two female moogles wearing nurse uniforms came flying in, both holding onto a metal bucket filled with water.

Aeris' eyes widened in horror. She vaguely remembered having strange dreams about being bathed by flying moogles. Due to the medicine, she had simply thought she'd been having recurring dreams.

She sighed. It was bad enough that she had only recently become able to feed herself again, but having to be bathed at her age was downright humiliating.

"You're a real trooper, girl," the Bangaa chuckled, "Don't worry- soon you'll be well enough to give yourself a sponge bath once a week from here on out. _You_," she turned to regard Sephiroth, "Out!"

"I can hand her towels," Sephiroth deadpanned.

"Seph!" Aeris protested, her face turning red.

"Boy, don't you give me any of that perverted crap!" Va'Burra lectured him, "I work at a hospital- not a brothel!"

"Can't say I didn't try," Sephiroth half-shrugged as the Bangaa woman practically yanked him out the door.

* * *

"Ah, good evening, Professor and Mrs. Gast," Va'Burra greeted the Gasts as she stood outside Aeris' door, "You'll have to wait a few minutes. Aeris is takin' her weekly sponge bath. After I threw that boyfriend of hers out, though. Young people…I just don't know,"

"Oh, Sephiroth?" Ifalna frowned, "No, he's more like her brother. We took him in a long time ago,"

"Um…well…the family dynamics must have changed while ya two were gone. I'm always there when he visits her after work. The way those two stare at each other…not the way a brother and sister would…or should,"

Ifalna and the professor stared uneasily at each other.

"I'll go find Sephiroth," Gast muttered as he set off down the corridor.

"I'm dooooooone!" Aeris called from inside, "So it's okay for Sephy to come back now!"

"I'll handle it," Ifalna said to the nurse, "Thanks for everything,"

"My pleasure," the Bangaa said, "Hope I didn't open up a can of worms or nothin',"

"No, I'm glad you mentioned this," Ifalna said with a sad smile, "I guess every parent has to reach the point where they no longer have a clue what's going on in their child's life…I just thought I'd have a few more years before we got to that stage with Aeris..."

She went inside the room.

"Oh, hi, Mama," Aeris dumbly greeted Ifalna as she entered the room.

Ifalna's smiled widened. "So I can actually hug you now?"

"Ohhhh, I don't smell _that _bad!" Aeris said irritably.

"Sephiroth's around somewhere, I take it?" Ifalna asked.

"Yeah…he was vizziting before Ms. Va'Burra threw him out for my bath,"

Ifalna nodded, and then sat down in the chair next to Aeris' bed.

"Whassa matter, Mama?" Aeris whined as she saw the troubled look on Ifalna's face.

Ifalna smiled and shook her head. "It's hard…it's like you were literally seven going on seventeen. Granted, your father and I did raise Sephiroth up until he was fifteen…but I think there's a big difference between a fifteen-year-old boy and a seventeen-year-old girl,"

"I think you had that talk with me when I wazzzzz…." Aeris scowled, trying to remember, "Sevvvvennn…?"

Ifalna sighed as she looked at the full IV bag that had recently been hooked up. Now was not the time to have that kind of talk with Aeris while she was drugged.

She only hoped Sephiroth might have a few answers until Aeris was well enough to tell her side of the story.

* * *

"Ah, Sephiroth," Gast greeted the swordsman as he found him in the lobby reading a magazine and drinking a bottle of juice.

"Hello, Professor," Sephiroth answered.

"Busy?"

Sephiroth shook his head. "Not at all,"

"Good," Gast was tempted to snatch the magazine out of Sephiroth's hands and demand to know what the hell was going on between him and his daughter. However, he managed to keep a straight face.

"Is there something on your mind?"

"Oh," the professor said, "You know, I was just thinking…we've been so focused on Aeris' illness. But we've hardly asked you anything about how you've been these past ten years,"

"I told you all about my time in Avalanche," Sephiroth said with a confused frown, "I told you about Cosmo Canyon, Costa Del Sol, and Fort Condor,"

"Any girlfriends?"

"…"

"...Boyfriends?"

Sephiroth nearly choked on his drink as he shook his head no, coughing loudly.

"I had a lot to focus on," Sephiroth told Gast after finally swallowing the rest of his drink, "I tried to find time to pursue romantic relationships, but it's a little hard when you have to keep the fact that you work for a terrorist organization secret. I tried…believe me…it's not easy,"

"No pretty girls in Avalanche? Or was there a rule against that sort of thing?"

"No rules, as long as people were responsible. One girl was a little too boorish for my tastes, even though I'm sure she'd clean up well," Sephiroth said, recalling Jessie, "Great comrade, nothing more. Another was an incredible fighter, but was impossible to talk to outside of battle,"

"Not unlike someone I know," Gast said with a knowing smile.

"Point taken. Maybe we were too much alike. Besides, there was someone else smitten with her,"

He closed his eyes and remembered the stoical Elfé, and Shears, who was devoted to her.

"Sephiroth," Gast said, "I'm not trying to come down on you over something that happened three years ago, but…what the hell were you thinking by leaving my little girl to her own devices when she was only fourteen?"

Sephiroth cringed, still remembering the full reason why.

* * *

"_Aeris?" Sephiroth stuck his head inside the girl's room._

_Aeris looked up from her pillow, which she had just been sobbing into, and began hugging the pillow._

"_What happened?" Sephiroth asked as he approached her bed._

"_I was so stupid!" Aeris cried._

"_What happened?" Sephiroth asked again, his voice a little firmer this time._

"_I saw him kissing another girl!" Aeris confessed before breaking down again._

_Sephiroth knelt down next to the bed. "That boy you've been bringing over?"_

_Aeris nodded miserably._

"_So you _were_ dating him," Sephiroth remarked._

"_I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth," said Aeris, "I was afraid you'd get all protective and try to stop me from seeing him,"_

_Sephiroth sighed. "I'm not going to forbid you from seeing a boy. It's not like there were any warning signs for me to consider such an extreme move necessary. These things happen. It's painful, but it happens._

"_However…you're fourteen. You've got your whole life to find someone. So let me tell you right now that boy _isn't_ worth crying over for even a second,"_

_"Still hurts though," Aeris sniffled._

"_I'm sorry," Sephiroth sighed again as he turned away, "I wish there was something I could do,"_

_"No, you've done enough," Aeris said as she sat up and suddenly threw her arms around Sephiroth, "Thank you,"_

_Sephiroth suddenly stiffened. This had been the first time Aeris had her arms around him like that in a few years. The last time was when Aeris had sprained her ankle trying to climb rocks in Cosmo Canyon when she was ten. Sephiroth had carried her piggy-back home, where he'd then treated her with a mid-grade restore materia._

_There was definitely a change from then, he noted as she pressed into Sephiroth's back. When on earth had she grown _those?_ Had he been that blind these past couple of years?_

_He then paled as he realized his underwear suddenly felt tight._

"_I'll be right back," Sephiroth stated nervously as he stood up._

"_Sephy…?"_

"_Don't worry- I've just got to pick something up at the grocery store," Sephiroth said as he quickly walked out of Aeris' room, trying to think of something…anything, that he needed to buy._

* * *

"I couldn't just sit there and do nothing while strangers were fighting my battles for me," Sephiroth said hastily. That part, at least, was the truth. He _had _felt that way when he'd joined, but he knew it wasn't the real reason.

"It's very unlike you," Gast pressed.

Sephiroth sighed. This was exactly like the times Vincent would usually ask him the same question. Only he knew Gast would not give up on the answer as easily as Vincent would.

"She had the neighbor looking in on her,"

"Answer my question, Sephiroth,"

"I did,"

"You're leaving something out. Sephiroth, I may not have seen you for what to you is ten years, but I raised you as my own son for eight years, and still consider you to be my son as much as your sister is my actual daughter, and-!"

"She's _not_ my actual sister!" Sephiroth exploded, "Do you honestly think it's appropriate for a fourteen-year-old girl and a twenty-two-year-old man to be living under the same roof alone?"

"Sephiroth…?"

"Nothing happened," Sephiroth quickly said, "Don't worry,"

"Did you ever stop to think about what might have happened?" Gast asked angrily, "If some predator knew that a teenaged girl was living _alone_-!"

"As I said, the neighbor looked in on her every day. And Aeris is surprisingly good with a sword. What she lacks in strength, she more than makes up for in agility and speed. Trust me- any unscrupulous man that entered that house would come out a eunuch after dealing with her,"

"What about you?" Gast's voice suddenly became quiet. It was beginning to unnerve Sephiroth.

"As I've said- nothing happened,"

"But you were afraid something would," Gast said pointedly, "Do you normally go into some crazed sexual rage when you're around other girls, or just with my daughter?"

"I wouldn't call it _that…_"

"_You_ practically have,"

"…!"

"Well, you certainly didn't leave because you care about what the neighbors would think,"

"Professor…" Sephiroth groaned, his head in his hands, "If you want me to stay away from Aeris…"

"I never said anything of the sort," Gast butted in, "Despite my concerns for my daughter, you still mean a lot to me as well. And I severely doubt you have that little restraint,"

Sephiroth didn't respond.

"Now for the question this all leads up to," said Gast, "What exactly are your feelings toward Aeris? You're right- you're definitely not in a brother/sister relationship anymore,"

"We did kiss once," Sephiroth admitted.

"What?!" Gast stood up, despite the curious stares of the other people in the lobby.

"One, small, fairly chaste kiss, yes, it was on the lips, but it was practically for good luck,"

"And if she hadn't been infected? What more would you have done?"

"I'm…sorry. I can't help what I feel, Professor,"

Gast then sighed and sat back down. "No…I suppose not. Ifreet help me, I did not expect to fall for my own wife like I did either…"

They were silent for a few moments.

"You know that I'd die before I _ever_ did anything to intentionally hurt Aeris," Sephiroth said finally.

"…Yes,"

Once again, the two were silent.

Gast stood up after a moment. "Okay," he said, "I'm going to go home. I'm going to eat my dinner, go to bed, and sleep on this. I always say, give it a good night's sleep when you've got something important to decide,"

"I understand,"

"See you tomorrow, Sephiroth," Gast patted the young man's shoulder as he left.

* * *

Ifalna stood outside Aeris' room, waiting for her husband to return. She then held her breath as she finally saw him making his way down the corridor.

"Well?" she prompted.

"That nurse was right," Gast told her, "Sephiroth is completely head over heels for her. What did Aeris say?"

"Nothing," Ifalna said, frustrated, "They gave her another dose of the medication, so she's completely out of it. Don't worry, though. I won't be leaving until I get some answers from her as well. I just don't know, though…she's seventeen and he's twenty-five,"

"Might I remind you the difference in _our_ ages?"

"That was different!" Ifalna protested, "I was already in my mid-twenties when I met you!"

"Yes, these are things we'll all have to discuss," Gast acknowledged.

"Yeah," Ifalna agreed, "Well, what are you going to do now?"

"Find a restaurant," Gast shrugged, "You just said you planned to stay here until Aeris is coherent enough to talk with you. That could be a few hours, and you know I can't cook,"

"I don't think I'd be able to cook anything until I get Aeris' side of the story," Ifalna said, "I'm sorry, Faremis,"

"Don't be," Gast put an arm around her, "We didn't expect any of this to happen. You'll get your answers, and we can discuss it all later. Then we'll sleep on it, and hopefully, we'll have a clearer picture on all of this,"

"I hope so," Ifalna sighed.

"I'll see you at the hotel later," the professor kissed his wife.

"See you then," said Ifalna.

She watched him leave, and then went back into Aeris' room. The girl had fallen asleep, but not before she had turned on the TV.

"…_But we mustn't!" _a young girl about Aeris' age was protesting, as man obviously older than she was embraced her.

"_But I must have you now!" _the man pleaded.

"_Oh, Sully!" _the girl practically swooned in his arms as he began nibbling at her ear.

Ifalna immediately turned off the TV in disgust.

* * *

Aeris opened her eyes and looked around, seeing her mother sitting nearby reading a book. Outside, the sun had already set.

"Oh, you're finally awake," Ifalna remarked as she smiled and put her book down.

"Hi, Mama," Aeris yawned.

"How are you feeling?" Ifalna asked.

"Okay. How long was I out for this time?" Aeris asked.

"Just a few hours. You slept for most of it. Your bath must have made you tired,"

Aeris cringed, remembering that she _had_ been bathed by moogles. That was just a little too surreal for her to think about.

"Where's Sephiroth?" she asked.

"He's gone home, probably," Ifalna said before pulling her chair closer to Aeris' bed, "Aeris…I want to talk to you about Sephiroth,"

Aeris' eyes widened in alarm. "Did something happen?"

"Yes, and no," Ifalna said, trying to choose her words carefully, hoping she wouldn't want to ring either Aeris or Sephiroth's necks by the end of this conversation. "Aeris…I haven't been around during a very crucial part of your life,"

"That's okay," Aeris immediately said, "Don't feel guilty. I don't blame you at all,"

"Please let me finish," Ifalna interrupted her, "Look…your father and I have very recently noticed something. I just want to ask you: what is Sephiroth to you?"

Aeris stared, a little stunned by her mother's blunt question.

"H-he's my big brother…" Aeris began to say.

"Aeris- don't lie to me," Ifalna cut in sharply, "You were a bad liar when you were little, and you still are now. Just answer my question, please…I'm not going to get mad if you just tell me the truth,"

Aeris looked away, visibly upset.

"Honey, your father and I are just concerned. We at least would like to know what's going on before we make any rash decisions,"

"Wait- decisions about what?" Aeris interrupted angrily, "Mama, I'm almost eighteen! Who I fall in love with isn't yours and Papa's decision to make anymore!"

Ifalna was taken aback. "You're…in love with Sephiroth?"

"…Yes,"

"You're in love with your own brother then?"

"No!" Aeris exclaimed, "That's disgusting! Fine- I obviously don't think of him as my brother, then! Biologically, he never was, so I guess I don't see him as a brother at all…at least not anymore…"

Ifalna stared silently at the floor for a moment.

"When did this start?" she asked.

"I'm not really sure," Aeris admitted, "I guess it was after he left for Midgar. As exciting as it was to practically be living by myself, it was so lonely sometimes. And even though I had school, and I'd usually eat dinner with my neighbor…I don't know…

"But then, I'd get a letter from Sephiroth saying he was coming by for a few days, and then I'd feel so…well…_happy!_ And when I was going to Midgar, knowing I'd get to see him a lot more…I guess I thought I was lonely, or bored. But…I wasn't,"

"And your heart would race every time you saw him?" Ifalna finished.

"…How did you know?"

"It's how I realized I was in love with your father," Ifalna answered simply.

"…So you understand?" Aeris asked.

"I…maybe I should just…think about this…I suppose your father and I will have a lot to talk about,"

"He's not going to get mad, do you think?"

"He already knows. He's spoken with Sephiroth…so we know this isn't a one-sided thing,"

"It's not!" Aeris said immediately, "Why else would he hold my hand the way he does? Or kiss my hand when he's about to leave?"

"I really _am_ an oblivious parent…" Ifalna groaned, her head resting in her hand.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Mama," Aeris said smirking, "It's just part of having kids, I guess. Then again, I'd get myself checked out just to make sure I wasn't going senile before my time. Good thing we're in a hospital, huh?"

"Smart-alack. You're just like your father,"

Aeris giggled.

Ifalna stood up and grabbed her book. "Well, I should probably get going so we can both get some sleep. The four of us can talk about this tomorrow,"

"You're not mad?"

Ifalna's expression softened. "Confused and worried, yes. Surprised, yes. Mad…no. Goodnight, sweetheart,"

She leaned over and kissed her daughter's forehead.

"Goodnight, Mama," Aeris said.

She watched her mother leave. Somehow, she figured neither she, Sephiroth, nor her parents would be getting much sleep tonight.

* * *

Sephiroth turned over in his bed for about the hundredth time that night.

What would happen if they decided they were against it? What then? Would he respect their wishes? _Could_ he?

What of Aeris? She was a stubborn girl, but at the same time, he wondered if she would go along with what they said at the sheer gratitude of having been reunited with them. But then, he remembered what she had said that night before she summoned Holy…

"_You were always there for me. Always waiting for me, always teaching me something new. You were the one thing I could count on for as long as I can remember…"_

_She threw her arms around him. "And that is the one thing I wouldn't change for anything…" she whispered, "You…my protector…my best friend…I'm so lucky that you ended up being part of my life,"_

Sephiroth groaned. Aeris couldn't have said all that and just ignore it if her parents decided they were against a relationship between her and Sephiroth. However, that would likely make things worse if Aeris chose to defy them.

He cursed his lack of status-inducing materia. Sleepel would have been great right about now…

* * *

"All right," Gast said the next day.

He and Ifalna stood facing Aeris and Sephiroth. Sephiroth had sat down in the chair next to Aeris' bed.

"Obviously there was a lot we completely missed out on while we were separated," Gast said to them, "All we know is, we left a seven-year-old girl and her 15-year-old brother behind. Then you arrive, ten years older, hormonally charged, probably, and both of you claim to have fallen for the other,"

Sephiroth smiled slightly at the last comment, while Aeris looked a little embarrassed.

"We've realized that even though it doesn't seem like it to us, ten years _have_ passed. You were cared for by other people, and you're both different people than you were before," Ifalna spoke, "And the fact is, you _are_ both adults. As you pointed out, Aeris, you're almost eighteen. You're both old enough to make this kind of decision…and we should respect that…even if we're having trouble with this whole space-time disaster…"

_…that took my little girl away from me forever…_she wanted to say.

Aeris' eyes widened. "So it's okay? You're all right with this?"

"Well, if you're going to have a boyfriend, it might as well be someone we already know and trust," Gast said with a shrug.

Aeris grabbed Sephiroth's hand excitedly,

"_However!_" Ifalna broke in, "Aeris, you'll be coming back to live with us when you eventually get released. And of course, as it goes: parents' house, parents' rules. Obviously, you won't be staying out all night with Sephiroth. We'll work out your curfew when you're released,"

"I also trust that you two will behave yourselves whenever you visit here without us," Gast said to Sephiroth.

"Yes, sir," Sephiroth said right away.

"If at any point, Aeris, you move out, then you can consider yourself to be an independent adult. But for the time being, try to understand that these rules are for your own good," Gast told her.

"And Sephiroth, it's nothing personal, but obviously, if the professor and I are going to be out, you're not to be alone together in the house, or apartment or whatever we eventually get," Ifalna said, "And no dates at Sephiroth's apartment either,"

Sephiroth looked at his feet. Aeris couldn't help but giggle at how utterly chastised he looked. It wasn't something she had been used to seeing, save for the few times Vincent would read Sephiroth the riot act when he did something foolish.

"And I expect all of these rules to be obeyed," Ifalna said, eying Aeris and Sephiroth pointedly.

Sephiroth nodded.

"Aeris?" Gast looked expectantly at his daughter.

"No dates at Sephy's place at _all?_" Aeris pouted.

Sephiroth gave her a look that said, _don't you _dare_ push it!_

"Kidding, kidding!" Aeris laughed nervously when she saw the not amused looks on her parents' faces.

* * *

"Did you have to joke about going to my place?" Sephiroth sulked after the Gasts had left.

"Sorry. I just remembered my parents having more of a sense of humor when I was younger," Aeris said with a shrug.

"I don't think a parent's sense of humor counts when the joke is about their teenage daughter's sex life,"

Aeris rolled her eyes and thought: _what sex life?_

Sephiroth stood up. "I should go as well," he said, "I've got a half-day at the mines,"

"Aww, do you have to?"

"I'll be back later tonight," he promised. He then leaned over and kissed Aeris briefly on the lips.

Aeris' hand flew up and grabbed Sephiroth's shoulder, holding him close to her as she kissed him back.

"Hmm, someone's becoming quite insatiable now that she has the go-ahead," Sephiroth joked as he pulled away.

Aeris turned slightly pink as Sephiroth leaned over toward her again.

"To be honest, I rather like this new side of you," Sephiroth whispered in her ear.

Aeris giggled as her face turned even redder.

"We'll work on the blushing, though," Sephiroth said with a smirk, "I'll see you later, Aeris,"

"See ya, Sephy,"

She watched him leave, and then lay back down. What a crazy morning.

"Brought this in case ya needed to dispose of anything," Va'Burra announced as she entered Aeris' room, carrying a small metal bedpan.

"Thanks, but I'm fine for now," Aeris giggled, "You can just leave it on the nightstand…" she broke off laughing.

"What's so funny?" Va'Burra asked.

Aeris giggled. "Oh, nothing. Just recalling how my mother just threatened to ground me!"

Va'Burra stared confusedly at Aeris while the girl continued to laugh.

"Maybe it's time to lower your dosage again," Va'Burra said as she looked at the empty bag hooked up to Aeris' IV.

"No, it's just…I finally have a curfew..and rules, like every other teenager!"

The nurse sighed and shook her head as she placed the bedpan on the nightstand, and left the room chuckling.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

"As I've said- I don't know why the portal to Planet 131 has stopped functioning,"

"Stop referring to it by a number," Ifalna snapped, "That planet is where I was born. Now that Aeris is getting better, it's time for us to see about getting back,"

She and the professor had gone back to the terminal in Beud A'Evori, which was managed by officials from the galactic capital. She felt as if they had been talking to a wall for the past twenty minutes.

"Mrs. Gast, do you know how many planets are named either 'Planet', 'Earth','Gaia" or 'Terra'?" the technician droned, "People aren't usually very original with naming their native worlds. Beud A'evori, for example, literally means in the Seraphim's old language: our home,"

"Whatever!" Ifalna snapped, "That's not important! What _is_ important is that our family can finally get home after this whole mess!"

"Ma'am- from what we've heard about your homeworld, why would you even want to return there? So another mad scientist can kidnap you and subject you to experiments for the sole reason of being a racial minority? The file even states that you had to be treated for dizzy spells when you arrived here…_which_ I've heard, were proven to be a side-affect from whatever it was you were being injected with. For all you know, that might have killed you had our two former officers not stepped in and rescued you."

Ifalna sat back, a troubled look on her face.

"Don't judge the entire population of our home planet based on the actions of a few evil-minded individuals," Gast stated coldly, "Despite the problems that have occurred there, our daughter managed to make some good friends there who are probably worried sick about her, given the condition she was in when she left. Sephiroth's father also has the right to know his son is doing fine,"

"Your daughter can make new friends on Beud A'evori," the technician argued, "The simple fact is that it would cost an incredible amount of money to send technicians over to some backwater planet so they can fix a broken gateway to send one family home,"

"Then just send us back another way and forget about the gateway," Gast suggested.

"Still an astronomical, if you'll pardon the pun, amount of money that the transportation company will not be willing to pay for just four aliens,"

"I want to talk to your supervisor!" Ifalna demanded, finally losing her patience.

The technician looked away and rolled his eyes.

"You could talk to the _president_ of the company and still get the same response," he told them.

"Fine!" Ifalna exclaimed angrily as she stood up, "We'll find some other way to get back! There's got to be a planet close to ours,"

"That would be this one," the technician told her, "It's approximately two light years away from your solar system,"

"We'll live in Beud A'evori, then," Gast said coldly, "As soon as Aeris is discharged next week,"

They left the office of the travel company, Ifalna slamming the door behind her.

* * *

"I don't know," Aeris said, frowning as she sat at the edge of her bed, "Are these little exercises they've left for me to do really going to help me get back on my feet? I would've thought they'd have me go to a physical therapist,"

Sephiroth looked at the pictures of various exercises on the pieces of paper that the doctor had given Aeris.

"Well, we don't know that much about the disease," Sephiroth acknowledged, "But it does seem that the only reason you were ever in any danger was because you weren't properly treated when you were first infected,"

"Yeah," Aeris noted, "It's kinda like the Cetra version of tuberculosis, isn't it? My ancestors all died because of it, but I was lucky enough to be born during a time when it can be treated…and you were lucky enough to be born during a time where it can be prevented for you altogether,"

"We're both fortunate," Sephiroth agreed as he took Aeris' hand.

"So…" Aeris said innocently, "What are we going to do about our date?"

Sephiroth stared quizzically. "Date?"

"Yeah- DA-ATE. I mean, shouldn't we go on a real date once I'm out?" Aeris asked, "There's a lot of stuff out in Beud A'evori that I haven't seen. Hey- what do you think the movies are like?"

"I don't know. Hopefully entertaining,"

"Well, then I guess we'll have to go see a movie," Aeris said with a shrug, "If they even have movie theaters there. And I have to eat something other than hospital food. So I'll have to try some of the food as well,"

"Dinner and a movie," Sephiroth nodded, "It's a date then…"

* * *

"Aeris- that chair isn't some kind of go-cart toy," Gast reprimanded his daughter, "I'd rather not have you damage something in this station and have to pay who-knows-what kind of money."

Aeris grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, Papa," She pulled back the lever on her wheelchair that controlled the speed.

It had been a week since Aeris was released from the hospital. She had been given a motorized wheelchair to help her get around until she was permanently on her feet again. In the meantime, the Gasts and Sephiroth had packed their things, and were preparing to head over to Beud A'Evori in hopes of finding a way back home.

"Something wrong, Seph?" Ifalna asked as she noticed the troubled look on her surrogate son's face.

"Are you sure we can handle this?" Sephiroth asked, "We'd be arriving there, and would have to find jobs right off the bat to pay the rent,"

"That's why it's good they hooked us up with one month's worth of rent while everyone looks, huh?" Aeris said brightly.

"They've at least kept us compensated," Gast agreed, "Even if we're going to have to take a roundabout way to get back home,"

"_Now boarding, tram number 4!_" a voice announced on the loudspeaker.

"That's us," Ifalna noted.

"Maybe I should help you," Sephiroth said as he saw Aeris fiddling with the controls on her wheelchair.

"They barely even showed me how to use this thing," Aeris pouted as Sephiroth steered her onto the ramp leading up to the tram.

"_Please stay clear of the doors,_" a voice on an intercom said as the four found a place to stand.

"Aren't there any places to grab onto?" Aeris asked.

"I've got your chair if anything happens," Sephiroth reassured her.

"_Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to depart. Next stop, Gaspar Station, Beud A'evori. Doors will open on the left,_"

Just then, the lights inside dimmed, and a bright light began coming through the windows.

"Wow…" Aeris couldn't help but smile in amazement.

Only a few seconds later, however, the light through the window faded, and the lights inside came back on.

"Well, that explains why we don't need to grab onto anything," Aeris remarked.

"_Welcome to Gaspar City, Beud A'evori!_" the voice announced, "_Don't forget your belongings, and have a nice day!_"

The doors opened.

"Wow…" Aeris marveled as they made their way toward the doors.

Gaspar city seemed to glow in the perpetual twilight that made Beud A'evori a popular vacationing spot.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Ifalna commented. She then turned to Sephiroth. "I guess you won't have to worry about those headaches anymore, since this is the brightest it gets here,"

"Maybe that's why I'd get those headaches in the first place," Sephiroth suggested, "Because a seraph's eyes are designed for this kind of light?"

"Uh…" Aeris looked uneasy, "How the heck am I going to get around?"

Looking ahead, the land was nothing but rocky terrain. Somehow, the architecture seemed to adapt to the land, like Cosmo Canyon's homes had, only much more sophisticated.

Aeris held up a potion labeled "Float".

"Hey, do you think they might have any wholesale dealers around here?" she asked, looking at the bottle.

* * *

"It's cheap, it's effective, it's all I need," Sephiroth argued.

"It looks hideous," Aeris insisted, "I could splash bright orange paint on that thing right now and it would be an improvement,"

The day after both the Gasts and Sephoroth had signed leases on new apartments, Ifalna had made a day of the four of them splitting up and furnishing their respective places. She had gone to one section of the store with the professor, while they'd let Aeris help Sephiroth pick out his own furniture.

"You're being dramatic," Sephiroth sighed.

"Seph, your rooms never had posters, never had anything other than the bare basics. That's fine. You live like a soldier, even though you hate the army. But do you really expect to entertain visitors with that kind of living room furniture?"

"Who am I going to be entertaining besides you?"

"Oh, that makes me feel so special," Aeris snorted.

"I didn't mean it that way. You've just never objected to the furnishing arrangements in Fort Condor,"

"I was ten years old when _Vincent_ picked out the furniture _for_ us! And I've gotta say, you got your taste in it from him,"

"Thank you. One more reason to compare me to to the old man,"

"Oh, come on. You and Vincent settled your differences years ago. Stop acting like you still hate him,"

"Few people like to be compared to their parents," Sephiroth pointed out, "You still haven't admitted to your parents that maybe…just _maybe_…you might actually need glasses?"

"Just because I don't have night vision like you do doesn't mean I'm going blind," Aeris crossly pointed out.

"Just because you might need glasses doesn't mean you're also going to grow a mustache and tell silly knock-knock jokes like your father,"

"Thanks for the mental image," Aeris sulked.

"I've got plenty more if you want to object to my taste in furniture,"

"You're evil,"

"Mmm, yes. Just the other day I burned down a village, and tried to take over the world. Skewered a couple of innocent maidens, too,"

"Was it actually you, or one of your little clones?" Aeris joked.

"Ah, yes- I'd forgotten about my little clones," Sephiroth acknowledged, "Where did those little clones come from?"

"Oh, you were just the factory's prototype, silly," Aeris giggled, "The clones are the actual deal,"

"Where do we come up with this garbage?"

"I don't know,"

"You come up with the most of it. Once again, you've got something in common with your parents. Only this time, it's your mother's imagination,"

"Phooey! I can't even get you back by comparing you to Vincent. It's like calling the sky blue or water wet,"

"So they say,"

"You two may not look alike at all, but your dispositions…actually, maybe if not for the Jenova cells, you'd have had black hair just like him,"

"I keep my hair in better shape, thank you,"

"I know. You may not like the Shinra army and all, but you have to admit, when it came to hair-care, Cloud and Zack were just as bad as you, if not worse, since their hair is considerably shorter than yours,"

"_Who_ was the one who had the urge to primp herself before the mirror not two minutes before Jessie dragged you out the door for the start of our mission?"

"I was putting _deodorant_ on! Sorry that I didn't want to smell like some dirty old man! So while I'm at it, I decided to tweeze _one_ stray hair from my eyebrows when Jessie walks in and starts getting on my case!"

She then wheeled herself over to a black leather couch.

"Here. How about this? It at least matches your coat,"

"So that we can stick to it in the summer? It gets hot out here. I checked,"

"Black corduroy?"

Sephiroth could feel himself shuddering. "I hate corduroy. It makes my hair stand on end just thinking about it,"

"You're impossible!" Aeris burst out, slamming her hand down on the armrest, triggering the controls.

"Shit!" Sephiroth exclaimed as he dashed out of the way of the now-speeding wheelchair.

"AH, WHAT DO I DO?!" Aeris wailed as she headed for a display of lamps.

Sephiroth dashed behind the chair and grabbed it, the wheels making an awful skidding sound on the floor. Aeris fiddled with the controls, and the wheels gradually stopped spinning.

"How many people are looking at us?" Aeris asked quietly, not looking up.

"Too many..." Sephiroth told her.

"This is all your fault..." she grumbled.

* * *

"Oh, honey, they're already arguing like we do," Ifalna cooed as she and the professor observed the scene from across the store.

"Truly the perfect couple," Gast agreed, "But I swear, Aeris is going to wreck that chair. If she does, so help me…"

"Careful, dear," Ifalna said with a smirk, "You're acting like a parent again,"

"Don't they know how to act their age? I always figured I'd have to discipline my seventeen-year-old daughter for breaking curfew, skipping classes, parking tickets…those kinds of things,"

"Instead, you're reprimanding her for nearly running over the man she loves in the middle of a store," said Ifalna, "Yet somehow, despite how much worse that sounds, it's a lot better than you predicted,"

"That it is," agreed Gast, "That it is…"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Aeris threw down her tank top, her frustration level rising.

That _stupid_ blotchy thing! It was ruining everything! All her best-looking shirts, revealed the unsightly marks covering her shoulder. Doggone-it, why did she have to look so darn cute in sleeveless tops?

_It's a curse…_ she thought as she flopped back on the bed and let out a huge sigh.

Aeris hadn't bothered using the wheelchair while she was in her room. For starters, the room was small, and she could at least stand on her own two feet, and occasionally use her arms and legs to "spring" her from one support(dresser, bookcase, bed, nightstand) to the other. It was surprising how tired that would leave her, but it had only been a week since her family had moved into their place.

_Yeah, that's an idea, actually…_Aeris thought as she sat up in bed. _I can't look my best for Sephy…but I can at least walk to the door to greet him. Ah well…it's not like Mama and Papa would have liked to see me wearing anything too "racy". I don't know about this whole "adolescence" thing. No wonder kids leave home to join the Shinra army…_

Aeris' first date with Sephiroth would be tomorrow. He would pick her up, and the two planned on picking some random restaurant to eat at. After that, there was a comedy playing at the local movie theater. Aeris just hoped it was better than the lame B-movie she had seen in Mideel with her friends.

She then felt a pang as she remembered Tifa, Jessie, Zack, Cloud, and the others. She wondered how all those guys were doing.

_I meet all these cool people, and I get stranded out here…_she thought.

She then pushed the depressing thought out of her head as she found a nice-looking sweater to wear over her top.

* * *

"How's the new job?" Aeris asked later that evening as he wheeled her down the street near a park.

"Construction work is slightly less filthy than mining," Sephiroth answered, "And this job pays more. Or maybe livings are cheaper here. I'm not sure. I don't get paid for another week-and-a-half, though. This date will be on the credit card,"

"Instant approval, even if you're an alien!" Aeris joked.

"So what are you thinking for dinner?" Sephiroth asked her.

"I haven't had fast food in ages," Aeris remarked.

"Yes- for a reason," Sephiroth pointed out, "I was there when the doctors told you that greasy or sugary foods wouldn't help your recovery,"

"Then the hospital needs a new staff for their kitchen," Aeris said crossly, "All of their stuff was like bad fast food,"

Sephiroth shrugged. "Fine. If you don't want to eat at a nice restaurant courtesy of yours truly, we can find some greasy burger joint, if that's what you _really_ want. No salad bar, no ice cream sundaes for desert, and maybe we can sit right next to some family with a couple of screaming toddlers. Perhaps with the kind of parents who read those books that tell you not to discipline your children lest you scar them emotionally…"

"All right, you made your point," Aeris told him, "Fine, we'll do the fancy restaurant tonight. You drive a hard bargain, mister,"

"Yes, what a compromise," Sephiroth commented dryly.

"We'll hit a drive-thru once I'm better," Aeris told him.

"How? Neither of us know how to drive,"

"I figured the wheelchair would qualify," Aeris joked, "You can steer and I'll sit in your lap,"

"Hmm…I can't complain,"

"Speaking of the chair…" Aeris said as they passed a park, "Hey, stop a minute. I forgot to do this when we left, so I'd like to show you something right now,"

"All right," Sephiroth stopped.

Aeris then grabbed a lever on her chair, powering it. She steered it into the park, Sephiroth following her. Once she reached a grassy area, she stopped.

"Stand over there," Aeris pointed ahead.

Sephiroth stood about ten feet away from her on the grass. "Here?"

"Perfect," Aeris said as she struggled to stand.

"Wait- Aeris, are you sure you want to do this?"

"The doctor said I needed to work on walking," said Aeris, "And I've been doing my physical therapy exercises every day since we've been here,"

"All right. Are you sure you don't want my help?"

"You stay right there," Aeris said with a grin, "I've been practicing all week,"

She slowly stepped out of her chair, and began taking slow, wobbly steps toward Sephiroth.

"Not bad," Sephiroth remarked.

Aeris beamed. "Told you!"

It took a bit more strength for Aeris to take the next few steps.

"You're doing great," Sephiroth told her.

"Thanks," Aeris smiled weakly.

"Just a couple more steps,"

"Yeah," Aeris said softly, before she collapsed into Sephiroth's arms.

"Ahh…" Sephiroth grunted as he caught her, "That's okay. We can try again next time…"

He then stopped as he noticed Aeris had gone totally limp.

"Aeris?" he gently laid her down on the ground and tried to rouse her.

It wasn't working.

"Aeris!" he began shaking her, "Somebody get a doctor!"

* * *

"Typical performance from the Galactic Capital," the Seraph doctor said angrily as he paced around the room where Ifalna and Professor Gast sat later that evening.

"What's the matter with her?" Gast asked worriedly.

"She's had a minor relapse," the doctor told them, "The virus wasn't completely exterminated, and Aeris exerting herself only helped it to start reproducing again. This is, from what you've told me, the same reason why she was in such a dire state to begin with,"

"So how much longer does she need to be in the hospital?" Ifalna sighed.

"A few weeks, at most," the doctor said, "That's the good news. The bad news is that Aeris will need more extreme treatments. None of that goof-tonic they use over at the capital. I must warn you, though- it'll be painful for Aeris, but I'm certain it will wipe out the virus much quicker than what they were doing before,"

"Can't you give her anesthesia?" Gast looked worried.

"Anesthesia interferes with the treatment, I'm afraid," the doctor answered, "Try not to worry too much. It'll only last for a few minutes, but it'll do the job,"

* * *

Sephiroth poked around in the gift shop in Gaspar City's hospital. Aeris had been quaranteened due the health hazard she presented to the several Cetra that worked in the hospital. The doctors had been shocked upon finding out that Sephiroth and Aeris' parents had been allowed to see her without any kind of protection.

He looked around. Aeris' treatment would be starting any minute now. Wishing he had money to buy her a nice gift, he then noticed a boquet of what appeared to be blue roses. Looking at the price tag, he smiled. Only five GP. Cheap, but he knew Aeris would be thrilled seeing some of the flora on this new world.

He took the flowers and went over to the counter to pay.

* * *

Professor Gast and Ifalna sat in a small room watching through a large window as a nurse administered an IV in each of Aeris' hands in the next room.

"Hello, Aeris," a woman with rabbit-like ears spoke into a microphone, "I'll be in charge of this procedure. I have to warn you, it's going to be painful, but it only lasts for a few minutes,"

"Is that the reason you have to strap me to this thing?" Aeris asked from the next room.

"Unfortunately, yes," the woman responded, "This is for your own safety, really. The doctors have already hooked you up to the system, yes?"

"Oh, the IV's? Yeah,"

"Good. Then we can start now. Let's not drag this out. The sooner we do this, the sooner you can get some sleep. I'm going to count down from three, and then we'll start the treatment,"

"Okay," Aeris replied, "I'm ready when you are,"

"Three…two…one…" the technician spoke, before pressing a button.

The IV's connected to Aeris' hands began filling her with a dark substance. The teen cried out in pain.

"You're doing fine, Aeris," the technician reassured her, "It'll be over in a few minutes. I'm sorry, but the pain's going to get-"

Aeris then began to scream.

"-worse," the technician concluded lamely.

"Can't you at least let us be at her side?" Ifalna was near tears.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Gast, but that room can't have any contamination at all whatsoever," the technician apologized sincerely, "Besides- she's probably contageous again. It's practically a miracle that you didn't catch the virus the first time around,"

Just then, the door opened and Sephiroth stepped in. He then froze and dropped the flowers, his blood running cold at the sight of Aeris strapped to the gurney and screaming, which had suddenly triggered an old memory…

"_Please!" Sephiroth wept as Hojo jabbed the five-year-old with another needle, "No more shots!"_

"_Keep quiet, boy," Hojo said coldly, "Are you that weak that a few needles will make you cry? You're the future of Shinra's army. Soldiers don't cry,"_

The technician read Sephiroth's expression. "Please, just sit down and try to bear with this. The treatment only lasts a couple more-!"  
Sephiroth ignored her and rushed over to the window, grabbing a chair and attempting to smash the glass.

"Sir- stop!" the technician pleaded, not leaving the machine.

Sephiroth wasn't having any success with the window, and dropped the chair, preparing to cast a Fire spell.

"Sephiroth- please calm down!" Gast pleaded.

"Firaga!" Sephiroth shouted.

An intense burst of fire flew at the window, only melting it slightly.

"I need security here ASAP!" the technician pleaded into the receiver of a nearby phone.

_I won't let them hurt Aeris…_Sephiroth kept saying in his mind over and over again as he prepared to cast another Fire spell.

A few seconds later, two uniformed Seraphim burst into the room. One immediately took out what looked to be a gun, and shot Sephiroth with a beam. The Seraph hybrid immediately fell limp.

"Sephiroth!" Ifalna immediately rushed over to her surrogate son.

"He'll be fine, ma'am," one of the Seraphim informed her, "It's just a sedative. We'll need one of you to escort him home now,"

"The treatment's over now," the technician told them, "In a couple of days, you won't need to worry about Aeris's virus anymore. From there on out, it's strictly physical therapy,"

The Gasts tried to see Aeris through the window, but now that it had been partially melted, the view was completely obstructed.

"That's going to cost him," the other Seraph indicated the window.

* * *

"Well, here's the good news…" Gast said the next day.

Sephiroth sat miserably in his apartment, where Gast had come to visit him.

"You're not banned from the hospital," Gast continued, "The bad news is that you're financially responsible for the damaged window. And you can expect security to be watching you like a hawk,"

Sephiroth sighed. So much for his first paycheck.

"You had me pretty worried," the professor said, "You were pretty out of control in there. Mind telling me what that was all about?"

"You know what that was about," Sephiroth said, slightly annoyed.

Gast peered at the young man, and then realized…

"I see," the older man said, "You still haven't gotten over those days, have you?"

"I thought I had," Sephiroth said, "With Hojo dead, and our being free from Shinra's pursuit, I thought it was all over. But seeing Aeris strapped to a table and in so much pain…"

"…Made you think that your worst nightmare had come true," Gast finished, "Tell, me…when was the last time you saw a doctor?"

Sephiroth looked uncomfortable.

"Three years ago," he admitted, "Avalanche wanted to make sure I was in top shape before joining,"

"And before that?"

"…When I was eighteen in Costa Del Sol," Sephiroth mumbled after a beat.

"And you've never talked to anyone about it?"

"I don't need a shrink," Sephiroth said defensively.

"I didn't necessarily mean a therapist. I meant, well…anyone. Vincent, Aeris, anybody,"

"No," Sephiroth answered.

"I see," said Gast, "Well, just a bit of advice…try it. You might feel better,"

Sephiroth didn't say anything.

"I suppose I'll head home now," Gast said as he went over to the door, "Get some sleep. I'll call you when Aeris is up for having visitors,"

* * *

Sephiroth entered Aeris' room a couple of days later.

"What's this I hear about you almost getting yourself banned from the hospital?" Aeris immediately asked him, a stern expression on her face.

"Sorry," Sephiroth said as he sat down at the edge of the bed.

"What- that's it?!" Aeris exclaimed, "No, I want an explanation! Were you drunk or something?"

"No, I wasn't drunk," Sephiroth answered irritably, "I lost my head for a moment. People do that sometimes without having to be intoxicated,"

"But why?" Aeris wanted to know.

"It's…not something I like to talk about?" Sephiroth told her.

Aeris recognized that look on his face. Whenever the subject of Sephiroth's early childhood came up, his expression always became distant and somewhat angry.

"Oh," Aeris said softly.

Sephiroth didn't respond.

"So it's something you don't want to discuss with anyone…" said Aeris, "…including me,"

"Aeris…"

"No, that wasn't fair of me to say," Aeris admitted quickly, "Sorry. I don't know what you went through. Who am I to say anything?"

"You're right…" Sephiroth acknowledged, "You didn't know what I went through…until you had to endure that treatment,"

Aeris winced at the memory.

Sephiroth touched his right leg, on the outer thigh.

"There's a scar here," he told her, "I got it when I was five. To see how much pain I could endure, and how quickly I could recover. Hojo decided I needed more Jenova cells and Mako treatments. Which of course, meant more injections,"

"Sephy…" Aeris said as she took one of his hands.

"Imagine having to endure that kind of thing, but every morning for two weeks straight," Sephiroth said dully as he looked out the window, "And imagine having nobody around to tell you things were going to be all right. Imagine thinking that was going to be the rest of your life.

"You're right that I don't like to discuss it. I don't like to think about it. Like you, I prefer to look ahead. But for one terrifying moment, I saw everything out of context, and I thought my worst nightmares were coming true. But I was rash, and now I get to pay for a melted window-,"

He was abruptly cut off as Aeris threw her arms around him. He then felt his sweater getting damp.

_Crap…_he thought…_I wasn't trying to make her cry…_

"I'm sorry…" Aeris wept, "I didn't know…how could people do this to a little boy? How could a man do that to someone he thought was his own son?!"

"Well," Sephiroth rubbed Aeris' back reassuringly, "There's a happy ending to that story. It was your father who had come back from Cosmo Canyon and suggested I start exercising regularly. Not long after that, I started training in swordplay. That, at least, made me happy,"

"No wonder you became close with Papa then," Aeris sniffled.

"The professor always used some cold analytical excuse whenever he tried to do anything on my behalf," Sephiroth said to her, "It was the only way to get through to Hojo. It was when that stopped working that he tried to get Hojo fired. And you know what happened after that.

"Don't worry about me. In the end, there were people who ultimately came through for me. If it wasn't for that…I don't know what would have happened. I don't want to know. There's no point in thinking about it, really. Because being here with you makes up for all of that. I love you, Aeris,"

"I love you too, Sephy," Aeris said as she hugged Sephiroth tighter. "Thank you for telling me…I know it wasn't easy,"

_Yet, I think it just became a whole lot easier…_Sephiroth thought as he closed his eyes. _Damn it, why does the professor always have to be right all the time…?_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

Aeris stared at the simple wooden bo staff she held in her hands.

"_This_ is their idea of physical therapy?" she asked, puzzled.

"Don't underestimate it," Ifalna said as she sat near Aeris' bed, "How else do you think I defended myself without having to fire lightning bolts at people?"

"You used to use one of these?"

"I was planning to teach you one day, but Seph beat me to it by teaching you swordsmanship. And I suppose they have better instructors here. When do you start?"

"Two hours," Aeris said, "And it couldn't have come sooner enough,"

"Cabin fever?"

"The worst," Aeris lamented.

"Hey, what's this?" Ifalna went over to the table near Aeris' bed. She picked up what looked like a transparent materia orb.

"It's pretty cool," Aeris told her, "Try activating it,"

Ifalna concentrated hard, and then saw inside, seeing what looked like a small kitten materialize. The kitten mewed, and then began licking its paw.

"That's amazing," Ifalna said appreciatively.

"It was invented in some place called Spira," Aeris explained, "They're called spheres. They've got more advanced ones that you can watch a whole movie on. They've been around for thousands of years, I've heard,"

"So many new things we learn about every day," Ifalna marveled.

* * *

Sephiroth looked at the photograph and sighed.

The picture of Aeris he kept with him had been taken in Mideel during their adventure. She was posing, along with Tifa and Jessie. Reno could be seen in the background flipping the bird, as he always seemed to do when photographed. Zack was standing off to the side giving the camera a "thumbs-up", while Cloud was looking at his feet.

Aeris had wanted a copy of it, and he'd obliged, having it duplicated and blown-up, which Aeris now had framed and sitting on the table near her bed.

He thought about Vincent, and couldn't help wondering how his father was doing. With the way things had turned out, he knew Avalanche was probably disbanded, if Rufus had kept his promise to tear down the mako reactors and go back to using regular electricity.

He wasn't sure what Vincent would even do with so much time on his hands. He could imagine the old man becoming a hermit and living out in the woods somewhere, that is if Mrs. G didn't keep him in Midgar against his will. He knew Avalanche's "Den Mother" as they affectionately referred to her as, wouldn't let members of her "family" just drop off the face of the planet.

The trooper kid would get the best medical care for his leg. If he made it through alright, he and the black-haired SOLDIER would probably both get huge promotions.

Remembering how interested the SOLDIER had been in Aeris, Sephiroth decided that was one good thing about the gateway's sudden malfunction. The black-haired kid would have to find someone else to chase after. He hoped not Jessie. They'd probably kill each other if they got together.

Still, he knew they couldn't stay in Beud A'evori forever. Somehow, he would make sure they could at least contact everyone back home.

* * *

"How are you feeling?" Sephiroth asked the next day as he entered Aeris' room and sat down by her bed.

Aeris, who lay face-down, her head buried in her pillow, groaned loudly.

"Didn't the doctors warn you that you'd be sore the next day?" Sephiroth reminded her.

Aeris groaned again.

"Where does it hurt?" Sephiroth asked.

"My arms, my legs, my back…even my _hair_ hurts!" said Aeris, her voice muffled by the pillow.

"Don't they have painkillers they can give you?"

"NO!" Aeris exclaimed as she lifted her head up, "No more! I can't stand anymore of that damned medicine they give me!"

"Hey- that's one gil," Sephiroth remarked at her language.

"Oh, shut up," Aeris said sullenly, "If they don't make me act goofy, they make me cry nonstop for no reason, or one time, I tried to pick a fight with a nurse _and_ two orderlies! Doctors say it's because I'm half-human. Something about being human and hume that's different. Our brains are wired differently, or our blood is different…I don't know. I'm sure Papa already knows the details,"

"How about a back rub?" Sephiroth suggested.

Aeris looked up at him warily. "Have you given somebody one before?"

"Well…no,"

"No thanks," Aeris said quickly.

"Aeris, I'm not going to snap your spine. Just relax, and stay still,"

Aeris sighed. "Okay,"

Sephiroth rolled up his sleeves, and then carefully put his hands on Aeris' back.

Aeris jumped slightly. "Cold!" she exclaimed.

"Sorry," Sephiroth began vigorously rubbing his hands for a minute. He then put them back on Aeris' back. "Better?"

"Yeah,"

Sephiroth slowly began to massage her shoulders, occasionally moving down to her back, but not going much further than that. Occasionally, Aeris would let out a small, contented sigh.

"Go toward the left shoulder…no, lower…to the right a little more…no left…HEY! Not _that_ far left! Not while we're still in the hospital anyway…" she finished with a giggle.

"Yes, you're really making this easy for me," Sephiroth replied sarcastically, despite the wish that she _could _turn over…Sephiroth then pushed the thought out of his mind.

"You're the one with the wandering hands…"

"I haven't broken any ribs yet, have I?" he asked sardonically, trying to think of something else.

"You know I'm only teasing. You're doing fine," Aeris assured him, "I wish this could be part of my physical therapy,"

"It could be…" Sephiroth said with a smirk.

Aeris raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Fine, you twisted my arm…"

Sephiroth playfully grabbed one of Aeris' wrists.

"No!" Aeris squealed, "Stop being so literal!"

Sephiroth chuckled and let go.

* * *

Ifalna's eyes wandered around the dark room once more.

For the past hour, she hadn't been able to sleep. The tiny cloud of doubt in her mind had slowly grown over the weeks, and had escalated to full-blown worry.

Finally, she could take it no more, and began to rouse her husband.

"Faremis!" she whispered.

"…and apply the Primary Mako Equation!" Professor Gast blurted out before his eyes shot open.

"Wake up!" she said irritably.

"What's wrong?" Gast asked sleepily.

"What if it doesn't work out?" Ifalna asked.

"Then you'll find another job and we move on with our lives," Gast yawned as he tried to roll over and go back to sleep.

"I'm not talking about my new job," Ifalna said, annoyed, "I'm talking about Aeris and Sephiroth,"

"Hmm?" the professor rolled back over again, facing his wife.

"If things don't work out with them, what will happen?" Ifalna asked worriedly, "I know Sephiroth. He'd probably take off, and we'd never see him again!"

"No he won't. He knows we're his family," Gast replied.

"Faremis," Ifalna said sharply. Her husband looked up at her. "You're deluding yourself if you think things will simply go back to the way they were. Everything's changed in the last year. You can't deny that. A year ago, we were living in Corel. Aeris was in the second grade, and Sephiroth was a junior Kendo instructor. And I was about to tell them that…"

"Ifalna, please don't dwell on it," Gast said immediately.

"It's not just something you get over!" Ifalna snapped, "With all the drugs he forced on me, that madman might as well have had a coat hanger-!"

"Honey, STOP!" Gast hissed, "Don't you remember that Sephiroth is sleeping on our couch tonight? Do you want him to hear you? So he can know you miscarried after we went through the gateway, and feel like he failed you even more?"

Ifalna immediately clamped a hand to her mouth, her eyes wide. She shook her head no. She had completely forgotten during her tirade that Sephiroth was staying with them while his apartment was being re-painted.

"It's bad enough that they have some idea what we went through, but you asked me not to say anything to them, and I agreed," Gast went on, "I know this year's been very, very bad for us, but the four of us came through it. Besides…who knows what kind of deformities would have showed up had you carried our child to term,"

Ifalna nodded miserably. This wasn't the first time he'd pointed that out to her.

"And we're still a family, regardless of what happens. And I'd love to call Sephiroth my son-in-law someday. And maybe…somewhere down the line, we can try again, and see if we can spend all eighteen years with the next child…"

"I'm certainly not opposed to it," Ifalna said quietly, "And while those ideas make me feel better, there still _is_ the chance that the romance will end, and then what?"

"Should we force them to stop seeing each other then?"

"You _know_ that's not what I mean,"

"I know you don't have much patience with old sayings," Gast told her, "But I say, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Let's face it, dear. It's all we can do…"

* * *

"Good work, Aeris," her staff instructor said the next day, "You've gotten good at blocking. You don't automatically duck and roll like you used to,"

"Well, you get better leverage blocking with a staff than with a small sword like the one I had," said Aeris, "Whenever I tried to block while training in swordplay, I always got the sword knocked out of my hands. Though my instructor might have gotten a little carried away at times,"

She then turned and smirked at Sephiroth, who she could see behind the glass door leading into the main hallway of the hospital. He sat in a chair, reading a magazine as he always did.

"Well, it's good that you're un-learning some of that training," her instructor said, "You can't just dodge battles forever,"

"Is there some kind of war breaking out?" Aeris quipped, "What's all this talk about battles?"

"I meant hypothetically," the instructor said, rolling her eyes, "Anyway, you're doing well. I'm told you're ready to leave the hospital,"

"Today," Aeris beamed, "And I can still walk to physical therapy from my parents' house,"

"Uhh, let's not get ahead of ourselves," the instructor told her, "You still get winded and sore. The virus may be gone, but if you push yourself too much, you might risk permanent muscle injury,"

Aeris couldn't hide the discouraged look on her face.

"Honestly!" the woman exclaimed as she put an arm on Aeris' shoulder, "You really expect too much from yourself, you know that?"

"That's what I always try to warn her," Sephiroth spoke. He had already put down the magazine and come outside.

"Fine," Aeris leaned her staff against her shoulder and held her hands up in mock-surrender.

"Well, it's quitting-time for me, so I'll see you in three days," the instructor announced as she headed back inside.

"So, what do you have planned for your release?" Sephiroth asked Aeris.

"A double bacon burger with extra cheese, double-chocolate milkshake, and curly-fries," Aeris answered straight away.

"Hate to tell you, but we may have to prepare that by ourselves," Sephiroth warned her, "I haven't seen anything even close to resembling a burger out here,"

"So we'll dine in. It's probably better for my health anyway," she joked, "I get it. I'm a self-destructive martyr. So let's just admit it and be done,"

"Aeris,"

She looked up at him.

Sephiroth regarded her solemnly. "Promise me something. Promise me you'll never push yourself beyond your limits. I don't want to see you back here anytime soon,"

Aeris' expression softened. She knew he was dead serious.

"I promise," she said quietly.

Sephiroth pulled her into an embrace. "Good," he said, "…because you scared me half to death,"

Aeris stood silently, completely sobered by Sephiroth's words.

"I'm sorry," she said.

Sephiroth stood back, letting her go. A small smile finally appeared on his face.

"Let's go get you signed out," Sephiroth said as he took Aeris' hand.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

"Hey Seph- I got an idea!" Aeris announced happily as she and Sephiroth stood at the top of a hill.

"What?" Sephiroth asked her.

Aeris immediately lay down, put her arms above her head, and began rolling down the hill.

Sephiroth rolled his eyes and began walking down toward the bottom. By the time he got there, Aeris was sitting up and laughing.

"Didn't Mom always tell you not to do that in case there might be animal droppings?" Sephiroth asked as he sat down next to her.

Aeris pouted. "Party-pooper!"

"Exactly,"

Aeris stuck her tongue out at Sephiroth and lay down, catching her breath.

"No more hospital," Aeris said happily, "No more bad food, no more drugs, no more moogle-baths…I've never felt more alive, Sephy,"

"You've never looked more alive either," Sephiroth remarked as he lay down next to her, "Come here…"

He leaned in for a kiss.

They were soon interrupted by the sound of children giggling. Looking up, they could see three young Seraphim flapping their wings, smirking at the couple.

Sephiroth instantly glared at the trio. They immediately sped away.

"Well, that was uncalled for!" Aeris protested.

"Tell me about it," Sephiroth muttered, "You'd think they'd have something better to do than laugh at us,"

"I was talking about you," Aeris said pointedly.

"What?"

"Scaring off those kids," said Aeris, "They're just kids. Give them a break. What happens if you have kids of your own someday?"

"I'll raise them to have proper manners and to mind their own business," Sephiroth answered.

They looked around at the people passing back and forth.

"Beud A'Evori sure is a densely populated planet, huh?" Aeris asked as she sat up.

"You're telling me…" Sephiroth grumbled.

"Seems like we only got any privacy in the movies, huh?" Aeris joked.

Sephiroth nodded in total agreement.

"I wonder if they have silent movies here?" Aeris wondered, "Then again, the corny music they have in the background of the silent movies _I_ know isn't exactly the best 'make-out music',"

"I'll put a sound barrier around us," Sephiroth offered.

"Now, Sephy, you know the 'no magic' rule in theaters," Aeris reminded him.

"So we'll find a movie with a bad plot and decent soundtrack," Sephiroth suggested.

"Sounds good,"

The two stared silently at the horizon for a few moments.

"So what do you wanna do now?" Aeris asked.

Sephiroth shrugged.

* * *

Professor Gast groaned as he encountered another dead-end in his online search.

Chartering space-ships was out of the question, at least from here. The closest planet to their home, was another backwater planet called Deux Terre. Perhaps it was time for this family to migrate.

That still didn't erase the fact that building gateways were a government procedure, and that chartering a shuttle was still far too expensive for the family.

Gast closed the web-browser and stood up. Aeris was healthy again. Everyone had their wits around them once more. It was definitely time for everyone to keep their eyes open.

* * *

Aeris put down the book she'd been reading for a while and stared ahead, resting her eyes for a bit.

The history text she had been reading on the empire's history had done almost nothing to intrigue her. It was only during what was known as the "Crystal Era" that the stories had managed to excite her.

But Aeris had noticed a pattern. All heroic stories seemed to be automatically attributed to the Cetra, regardless of whether it fit. Such as the thought that the people from Thamasa(an island in a prominent area of the Galactic Empire) were the original Cetra. But once the Espers of their world died out, what of the Thamsaians' magic use? There was another theory that Cetra were descended from Espers themselves. Aeris was more inclined to believe that the Seraphim were descended from them if anything. So much to sort out…

Aeris had seen something downtown that she could not get out of her mind for the last few days. This was the final straw. She got up off her bed and headed toward her front door.

"I'll be back in a few hours!" Aeris announced loudly as she left.

* * *

"Well, it does look like you've barely passed the minimum age required to join our local chapter of the White Mages' guild," the recruiter said as he glanced at the computer screen, "Aeris Gast, age 18, one half Cetra, the other half...unspecified hume-type,"

"Human," Aeris corrected him.

"Wait for the biology books to catch up with you," the recruiter joked, "Anyway, you've managed to wow everyone with the field tests, and the written tests weren't too bad either. It seems your grasp of magic is more intuitive and less theory-based,"

Aeris shook her head, bewildered, "First time I find out there's a 'theory' behind magic,"

"You'll pick it up in due time," the young man said, "In the meantime, you can pick up your things at the front of the warehouse,"

* * *

"I suppose it's better than joining a biker gang," Gast sighed later that evening.

"Ah, but this is so much more comfy than a leather jacket and a mini-skirt," Aeris joked as she pulled the hood of her new white robes over her head, showing off the red triangles that decorated the edges.

"I like the staff," Ifalna remarked as she examined the shiny, silver staff that Aeris had also been given.

"I was set to go with the hammer, until I realized I'd have to carry that thing with me wherever I go," said Aeris.

"So then…what do you _do_ there?" her father asked her.

"Learn spells, help the community, that kind of thing," Aeris answered, "Better than sitting around watching TV all day,"

Ifalna nodded. More often than not, these past few weeks, whenever she came home from work(Gast worked from home), Aeris was usually sprawled on the couch watching TV. She had been worried recently that Aeris would turn into a couch potato.

There was a knock at the door. Knowing who it was, Aeris went to open it while her parents headed back into the kitchen.

Sephiroth opened the door and stepped inside, staring a bit surprised at Aeris, who was now clad in over-sized white robes with red triangular trimmings at the sleeves, hood, and feet.

He instantly took one of Aeris' arms, opened the sleeve, and peered inside.

"I'm trying to find you, really I am," Sephiroth joked.

"Oh, stop it already," Aeris sulked as she shrugged Sephiroth off of her.

Sephiroth held his hands up defensively. "I'm just making sure you don't get lost in there,"

"You should join the Red Mages' Guild," Aeris suggested, "I think you'd look dashing in red,"

"I don't wear hats," Sephiroth stated flatly as he sat down on one of the sofas.

"Then join the Black Mages' guild," Aeris persisted.

"I'm perfectly happy wearing my own clothes and studying different types of sword-fighting on my own," said Sephiroth, "But I'm glad you've found something you're interested in,"

"Soup's on!" Ifalna called out.

Aeris hurriedly shed her white robes, revealing her street clothes.

"And she magically reappears!" Sephiroth deadpanned.

Aeris playfully threw the robes in Sephiroth's face, and went into the kitchen.

* * *

Sephiroth sat in Aeris' backyard, reading a few passages out of the Magic Theory textbook she had been given.

Aeris had been in the guild for about a week, and true to their world, the guild was hitting her with nothing but theory, _and_ preparing to send her into the desert for a mission.

As a Cetra, Aeris was told that bringing life to lifeless areas would be her main missions within the guild. She was okay with that, so long as they didn't send her too far away.

"It really does explain a lot of things," Sephiroth admitted, referring to the book.

"Yeah, but it's so much stuff to memorize,"

"You've always done well on tests,"

"They're sending me to the desert for a week," Aeris said as she wrapped her arms around Sephiroth's shoulders.

"I know,"

"What'll you ever do without me?" Aeris joked.

"Take up gambling?"

"Cool! What'll you buy me if you win?"

"A new sheath,"

"...Was that a joke or are you just trying to guilt me into playing with Muramasa more?"

"Both,"

"Oh, you…!"

"But we'll do something special when you get back. How are Mom and the Professor handling this?"

"They act okay with it, but I think deep down they're really scared," Aeris' expression sobered.

"You've been in much more danger before,"

"I think that's partially what scares them so much,"

"One can't really blame them," Sephiroth reminded her, "Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on them while you're gone,"

"You're the best," Aeris kissed the side of Sephiroth's forehead.

* * *

"Now the guild has our number in case anything happens?"

"If I plant a tree upside-down, you and Papa will be the first-ones notified," Aeris responded sarcastically as her parents watched her pack her things.

Ifalna lightly swatted the back of Aeris' head. "Don't be a smart-alack,"

"Yes, ma'am,"

Aeris closed her duffel bag, and then hoisted it over her shoulder, nearly toppling over in the process.

"Easy, dear," Gast tried to help Aeris steady the bag, "You're healthy. Let's let it stay that way,"

"You're the boss," Aeris sighed.

"Until you're paying your own rent, you'd better believe it," her father replied as he patted his only daughter on the head.

* * *

"I'm surprised Sephiroth didn't come with us this morning," Gast remarked as he steered the car towards the shuttle station.

"I told him it wasn't worth taking time off work to get up early and see me off," said Aeris, "So we said our goodbyes last night,"

Gast got out and went to the other side, opening the door for Aeris.

"Thanks for driving me out here," Aeris said warmly.

"Of course," Gast said as he gave his daughter a hug, and then a kiss on the cheek. Ifalna did the same.

"Hey, smile!" Aeris called out as she walked towards the platforms, "I got a job!"

Aeris waved one last time and began looking for the rest of her guild. She finally spotted them at the end of the platform and ran to catch up with them.

"And our newest novice is here," the Journeyman overseeing the trip announced, "People, this is Aeris Gast, I trust you'll welcome her as you do all the others. Now, let's board the shuttle,"

It was hard for Aeris to read most of the other novices' expressions when their hoods obscured part of their face, but she simply managed a friendly wave before slipping into line.

As she got on the shuttle and sat down in a seat, the Journeyman began speaking again.

"Since this is an overnight trip, you will be provided cabins. One for the ladies, one for the gentlemen. They're down at the end of that little hallway if you look over there…"

Aeris sat down and looked around. Everyone else pretty much did the same.

"So you're the newbie, huh?" a voice asked from behind.

Aeris looked up and saw a young man around her age standing behind her.

"Who says she's a noob?" a girl with shoulder-length blonde hair objected.

"Did you meet 'Terra' yet?" the boy leered.

Aeris shook her head confusedly.

"Noob," he confirmed to the other girl.

The girl looked sad. "Well, it is what it is. My name's Ingrid. Trust me- you'll like it here better once you're done meeting 'Terra',"

"God, you're such a bleeding heart," the boy scoffed.

"I'm just here to keep things in balance, is all," Ingrid replied.

The boy rolled his eyes as he left.

"Aeris, right?" Ingrid said as she sat down next to Aeris.

"Yeah…uh…who's Terra?" Aeris asked.

"Just someone all the people new to the guild are expected to meet," Ingrid said evasively.

"Uh…okay," Aeris said hesitantly, "So…how long have you been here?"

"Six months," Ingrid told her, "Hope you're not homesick,"

"It's…rather hard for me to get homesick anymore," Aeris said.

"Orphan?"

"Thought I was for a long time, but no," Aeris answered, "Long story,"

"They recruited me once I was too old for the orphanage," Ingrid said, "Worked out well, I'd say. Why'd you join?"

Aeris shrugged. "Self-discovery?"

"Good enough," Ingrid acknowledged.

* * *

Aeris had chatted with Ingrid for a while, before she decided to study for a few hours. After that was dinner in the sleeping quarters. Aeris had decided to read for fun before dozing off in her bed.

A sudden splash of ice-cold water woke up the young woman. Before she could even react, she felt her mattress being lifted in the air, and tipping forward. She landed on her side, and just barely avoided smacking her head on the floor. Aeris opened her eyes and saw all the other female novices crowded around her. Some were laughing openly, while others looked frustrated, and a couple others looked somewhat nervous.

"Aeris, meet Terra,"

Aeris looked around bewilderingly, seeing no one but her guildmates.

"Terra means 'earth' in the old language," Ingrid explained to her, "But can also mean the floor in general, and a general synonym for the elements,"

"Hence the water," a Viera girl pointed out dryly.

"Meet the floor, noob!" another girl laughed as they all left.

_Someone explain this to me…_Aeris thought as she picked herself up off the floor…_a terrorist group that has killed in the past welcomes me with open arms, while the _White Mages' Guild_, an organization dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of life, actually practices hazing!_

Wearily, she reached for her bag.

* * *

"Took you long enough," the Journeyman noted, "Though I'll admit, I met the floor a lot later than you. But then, I'm not a girl,"

He made a hissy expression and clawed at the air, then acted as if nothing happened.

"Well, novices, take a look at the beautiful forest you're going to be creating here," he announced loudly.

Aeris glanced around the giant, very empty wasteland around her.

So barren. So deserted, so quiet and lonely…then the image of Sephiroth appeared in her mind.

She then turned to the Journeyman.

"Sir, how possible is it for me to oh say, charter a private ship out here with my boyfriend once this is over?" she asked earnestly.

"Once this becomes a green paradise, quite easy. But I doubt you and your man will get much privacy when the people in advertising get a hold of this place,"

Aeris frowned and began mumbling to herself.

"Alright, novices! The only way to start work is to start work…!" the Journeyman shouted as he clapped his hands together.

Aeris hoisted her shovel in the air, and brought it down on solid rock buried under the two inches of sand.

The other novices laughed while Aeris dropped her shovel and tried to stop shaking from the impact.

With a sigh, she bent over and picked up her shovel again.

* * *

As it turned out, 'meeting Terra' didn't just include being dumped out of one's bed and having ice-water poured all over their head. During that week, she had gotten lost from the group after being hit with a confusion spell. Someone else had slipped a tranquilizer into her rations, and the poor girl fell asleep leaning against her shovel. Of course, when the shovel eventually gave way to gravity and Aeris' weight, she was in for another rude awakening.

"It all ends once you're out of that shuttle and back in Gaspar City," Ingrid promised her when no one was watching.

Aeris tried desperately to keep her mind focused on her objective, and the occasional longing for Sephiroth.

It wasn't until Aeris found her picture of Sephiroth defaced with a note on the bottom, reading: Eris' One-Winged "Angel".

There Sephiroth was, with two buck teeth drawn, along with an unflattering goatee, and one word written next to an arrow pointing to Masamune saying: Compensating?

"Eris"

One-Winged "Angel".

Compensating.

Aeris rushed to the first girl in the women's quarters that stiffled a giggle.

"Was it you?!" Aeris sputtered, "Tell me right now!"

"Hey- chill!" the girl laughed, "Have a sense of hum-OHHH!"

She wasn't able to finish her sentence before Aeris slugged her in the gut.

"Hey!"

The other female novices were swarming around Aeris, suddenly out for blood.

"Girls, just knock it off already," Ingrid said loudly, "You hit a sore-spot. It happens. Now we leave her alone. It's done,"

Yet another unspoken rule, apparently. The group broke up and everyone began to head for their beds.

However, the girl Aeris had punched wasn't finished with her. She leaped over the bed and charged at Aeris, preparing to tackle her.

Aeris instantly responded by sealing herself in a dark barrier. The girl simply bounced off it and crashed into a lamp.

"Where the hell did you learn to do that?!" Ingrid asked.

"My 'One-Winged Angel'," Aeris replied sarcastically as the barrier dissipated.

She then stood up on her bed. "I let my guard down these past few days, but if you push me too far, I can practically sleep with that barrier on,"

No one said anything. Confident that the others believed her bluff, Aeris threw away the photograph.

"And by the way, for future reference…" Aeris said pointedly as she got underneath her covers, "A-E-R-I-S spells my name! Got it?"

"Two sore spots," another girl commented as she turned off the lights.

"Shut up…" someone else grumbled.

* * *

A/N: Hey- at least they didn't dump flour and ketchup on her like in Dazed & Confused. I _could_ rewrite it, but Aeris would also have to switch crops and take up painting Kiss faces on statues…see what happens when you get me started on this kind of nonsense?! The girl was baked enough from the downers the hospitals gave her for Pudding's sake!

BAH! WHY AM I RANTING?! IS IT BECAUSE IT'S 2:37 IN THE MORNING?! I THINK IT IS!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

The rest of the week had been purely uneventful. The novices were able to finish their job. Aeris hadn't been bothered once. In fact, the other novices, save for Ingrid, wouldn't even speak to her.

"You broke the rules," Ingrid told her the night before leaving the desert.

"What rules?!" Aeris had exclaimed.

"The rules that we don't tell the 'noobs'," Ingrid replied guiltily, "Someone hits below the belt with the teasing, we back off. But retaliate, and you're an instant loner,"

"Well maybe I don't _want_ to play with the other kids," Aeris said irritably, "I mean, isn't this what people do in high school? My high school never even did that! We're supposed to be _over_ 18,"

"Well, from what you tell me, this 'college' thing you have on your homeworld is just as bad, except people keep trying to poison themselves,"

"Alcohol isn't 'poison'…" Aeris tried to remind Ingrid.

"Oh, right. Watery 'tranquilizers',"

Aeris sighed. It was useless to try to explain alcohol to anyone who hadn't heard of it.

"So where are you headed next?" Aeris asked Ingrid.

"Back to the Galactic Capital for me," Ingrid replied, "And sweet solitude for you from the look of it,"

"Speak for yourself!" Aeris said smugly.

"Oh, right. The one-winged…boyfriend with that lovely-looking black wing!" Ingrid quickly changed her phrasing once she saw that dangerous look in Aeris' eye come alive once again.

_And she seemed so sweet and innocent too_…Ingrid thought uneasily.

* * *

"How much did you make?" Sephiroth asked her as he walked her home from the station.

"Barely minimum wage for that week," Aeris muttered, "At least it's safe in the guild bank,"

"Welcome to the working world," Sephiroth said as he placed a hand around Aeris' shoulder.

"Yeah, well…I'm pretty sure _your_ co-workers never dumped ice-water on your head…"

"…Huh?"

"It's a long story…"

* * *

The next two months had flown by. Aeris was already getting ready to be promoted to Apprentice. Sephiroth maintained his job and his tiny studio apartment.

Gast had become licensed to practice medicine on Cetra, and was studying Seraphim anatomy, despite it being more complicated. He'd loaned all of his extra books to Sephiroth, who devoured them every chance he could.

Meanwhile, Ifalna was working for a local alchemist, actually learning to mix potions. She'd noticed how much Aeris' magic had improved, noting that the potatoes Aeris had planted in their vegetable garden were growing two weeks earlier than Ifalna's, which had both been planted at the same time. It wasn't long before Ifalna was doing her own research on Magic Theory.

While revitalizing deserts was something Aeris had to do a few times, most of her time was increasingly spent at the local children's hospital, casting Esuna spells on sick kids.

Sephiroth had listened to Aeris talking about her work, and knew she was growing fond of the children, and liking her work in general.

One night, he went by the hospital to meet up with Aeris.

"Good day at work?" he asked.

"Yeah," Aeris said, stifling a yawn.

"You seem to like this more than planting trees,"

"Hey, I like planting trees just fine, just not with the guild. It makes me feel like I'm doing community service for causing trouble,"

"You _did_ cause trouble, from what you told me. Even I've managed to avoid fist-fights for some time now,"

"I only hit her once! I played defense the rest of the so-called 'fight',"

"Such violence for such a gentle healer,"

"Who said I was gentle?"

"Touche. Does this mean you're unhappy with the guild?"

"No, it's not that…" Aeris looked frustrated, "I think joining the guild was a good idea,"

"You've picked up more healing skills," Sephiroth pointed out.

"And that's great, it's just…I mean, this _is_ the White Mages' Guild, so obviously, most of the members are going to be of Cetran decent. Well, you remember how much I wanted to find out more about the Cetra,"

"I do remember,"

"I thought being with other Cetra would make me feel more like…like I fit in," Aeris said sadly, "But I don't feel that way,"

"I know the feeling," Sephiroth told her, "Flying actually requires a lot more stamina here. I can't do it every day. Other Seraphim…" he snapped his fingers, "It's that easy,"

"I guess that's why we live in a valley, but that's not what I meant,"

"Does it bother you that much to feel out of place?"

"I guess I had my hopes up," said Aeris, "I should just be happy I don't have to look over my shoulder anymore,"

Sephiroth tried not to smirk. "Are you sure?"

Aeris turned around and saw a sphere in Sephiroth's hands.

"What's this?" Aeris asked as she took the sphere, "You got me a movie?"

"Try watching it right now," Sephiroth suggested.

"Now?" Aeris scowled, "Okay,"

She activated the sphere, and saw a small house, almost identical to the one they'd lived in back at Fort Condor.

"Wow, that's cool," Aeris said.

"I'd love nothing more than to have a house like that somewhere in a field or forest someday," Sephiroth said as he leaned over Aeris' shoulder, "Or even the mountains. I suppose one would have to settle for the mountains,"

"Really?" Aeris looked at him, "Well, I guess it's better than the city. I miss Fort Condor,"

"Seems like we've got the same idea," said Sephiroth, "A nice house in a rural area…together…so…why not?"

Aeris raised an eyebrow.

"Marry me, Aeris," Sephiroth said solemnly, "Let's make that dream happen. We're free now, you're all cured, we're both adults, I have a steady job, you're in the guild. Is there any reason you can think of why we shouldn't-?"

He was cut off by Aeris' squeal of joy as she pounced on him, hugging him tightly.

"So that's a yes?" Sephiroth joked.

Aeris responded by kissing him passionately. The two soon broke apart upon hearing a smattering of applause from a group of tourists standing about twenty feet away.

* * *

Aeris lay in her bed that night, half-giddy over Sephiroth's proposal, half-guilty that it meant she would be moving out.

There were so many milestones in Aeris' life that her parents had missed out on. She could see it in her parents' eyes every time she left for a weekend mission. When she and Sephiroth had told them the good news upon arriving home, her parents were supportive, but she could still see the sadness in their expressions.

_You need to live your life too, Aeris…_

Still, she couldn't help but hope that Professor Hojo had been reincarnated…as a slug…who had salt sprinkled on it.

* * *

A month later, Aeris had received her promotion, and an increase in pay. The wedding date had been set for one week after Aeris' birthday, which was coming up quickly.

"So February is now your birthday, and our imminent anniversery," Sephiroth commented, "You're a clever one,"

Aeris beamed. "More presents for me…unless you'd rather wait,"

"I never said that…"

Sephiroth had tried to find Aeris a ring, only to discover that rings were not a part of marriage in Beud A'Evori's culture, or even the Cetran Empire. Up until then, he had always wondered why so many people had the same rune-like tattoos on their wrists. They were like the small one Aeris had received upon her promotion, except bright red. His landlady, an old widow, had the same tattoo, only it was black all over.

They learned about marital tattoos, a tradition that had started in the Cetran Empire, which had spread to Beud A'evori's traditions.

"Does this mean no more tax breaks?" Gast had joked.

"It means we'll be getting invited to a lot of swingers parties," Ifalna had answered with a laugh.

"Ugh! At least wait till I leave the room before you say something like that!" Aeris had protested.

It would be a small ceremony, with only Aeris, her parents, Sephiroth, and the preacher. Aeris had been disappointed to learn that brides in this part of the galaxy wore robes on their wedding day- not dresses. Sephiroth had seemed relieved to know that he didn't have to wear a three-piece-suit after all.

A room inside one of the local temples would be set aside for their wedding. Aeris and Sephiroth had met the preacher who would be presiding.

Sephiroth had started working overtime, only saying that the money would get them the perfect honeymoon. He had refused to say anything else, much to Aeris' annoyance.

"Oh, let him have his fun and surprise you," Ifalna had said to her.

Aeris had to admit to herself that this wedding seemed to be a breeze. Then she remembered why that was.

Why did the gateway have to stop working? She could have been planning a larger wedding, and even invite the friends she had made in Avalanche. Granted, she couldn't picture Jessie in a dress, or Vincent in a suit, but it would have been nice to have them there. Vincent didn't even know where his own son was.

It wasn't fair. Was it too much for her to ask that both the bride _and_ the groom's parents be at her wedding? True, Sephiroth hadn't even said anything about it, but Sephiroth talking about his feelings was about as probable as Aeris learning how to fly.

As it was, Aeris' worries weren't over yet…

* * *

"No, see…" one clerk said to the other, "Tip of the thumb, to the wrist. Perfect prediction,"

Aeris glanced at her wrist nervously, wondering which end of the wrist the woman had meant. Sephiroth's hand was nearly twice as big as her own.

_Yeah, Aeris…just go up and ask her…_

Aeris continued to glance around the ceremonial robes displayed around the bridal shop. So far, the ones the guild had offered had been the nicest-looking. They were much more form-fitting than the usual robes, obviously, and not as gaudy-looking as some of the robes in the store.

"Can I help you?" one of the sales clerks asked.

"Looking for the right outfit," said Aeris.

"And what role are you playing in the ceremony?"

"Well, see, I'm the bride, and-" Aeris began.

"The bride?!" the woman exclaimed, "Oh- you'll have to forgive me. You look so young,"

"I'm almost nineteen!" Aeris protested.

"It's the eyes," the woman behind the counter said, "She's got those 'fountain-of-youth' eyes. She'll still look stunning when she's my age. And no, kid, you don't want to know how old I am,"

"Well, thanks," Aeris said, slightly embarrassed, "I'm just trying to find something nice to wear, and…"

The woman in front of her grabbed Aeris' right arm, revealing the small tattoo encircling her wrist, "You're a mage. You'll be provided with the best they have to offer,"

"Well…thank you for your honesty," Aeris said as she headed toward the exit.

"No, no, no!" the clerk hurried after her and steered her towards the lingerie section. "It's not just about the ceremonial robes! It's about what happens _after_ you're done with the robes!"

Aeris sighed. "Same thing every planet I go to, I guess. I'm not wearing a thong, though!"

The woman frowned. "…Thong? What's that?"

"From the look of it, a torture device used solely for the pleasure of men," Aeris answered flatly.

"Oh…well, I'm not one to comment on the customs of foreigners, but for that, I'd suggest the adult shop down the street…"

"No, not _that _kind of torture…" Aeris sighed, "Okay- when in Beud A'evori, do as the…Beud A'evori…-ans do. What do you recommend? I mean, I'm not from here, obviously. I really don't know what I'm doing,"

The woman turned around, trying not to show the GP signs in her eyes.

"Binah! Rosaea! It's dead today and we've got a young bride-to-be to shower all of our attention on…!"

* * *

Aeris entered the house, a bag from the store in her hand. Thankfully, she had long since discovered that underwear on any other planet was still underwear.

"Ah, you're home," her father appered in the hallway, "Did you find a dress yet?"

"Yes," Aeris answered quickly.

"Well, is the father of the bride allowed to see the dress? At least just hold it up for me to see,"

"It has to be altered," Aeris blurted out right away, "Where's Mama? I need her to take my measurements and maybe come up with a pattern,"

"She's upstairs-" Gast began to say.

"Thanks!" Aeris hurried up the stairs.

* * *

Aeris stamped her foot. "Stop laughing!"

Ifalna reached into the bag, and pulled out a pair of black lace panties.

"They snuck that in there!" Aeris exclaimed, pointing frantically at the panties, "I wasn't gonna use them, I swear!"

Ifalna's laughter finally subsided, and she managed to explain:

"Salespeople here are like serpents waiting to strike, Aeris. Even when I do the grocery shopping, you wouldn't believe the way they display all those impulse items in the checkout line,"

"I've come with you on shopping trips before. I've seen them,"

"You shouldn't have gone in there all alone, much less admit you didn't know what to do," Ifalna snickered as she pulled out a purple negligé, and burst out laughing all over again.

Aeris turned away, folding her arms grumpily.

Ifalna got up from Aeris' desk, and hugged her daughter, still laughing hysterically.

"It's all happening so fast," Aeris said.

"Part of me…" Ifalna managed to regain her composure, "…still isn't quite aware that it _is_ happening…maybe that's why this is all so funny…!"

"But what do I do with all this?"

Ifalna stood back, a mock-stern expression on her face.

"Married?! At your age? To that man?! Not on my watch! Give me all of that underwear, I'm going to return it right this minute!"

"Uh, well, not the silk stuff…I did try on the bras…very comfy,"

Ifalna's smile began to fade slightly. "Up to you," she said as she put the negligé down, "You really are growing up…no. You _have_ grown up,"

"Mama, I didn't want this all to make you sad," said Aeris, "I was just confused,"

"I know, and I'm glad you came to me, even if your problem belongs on a sitcom,"

"I…guess I'll take it from here," Aeris said.

Ifalna nodded as she left Aeris' room.

_Ugh! You did it again, Aeris! It's like, every time you try to involve them in this, you get them even more depressed about your age! But am I supposed to just leave them out? That's not right either…_

Aeris sighed and began to go through the items she would be returning.

_Wait a second…what happened to those black lace panties?! …No. No way…she couldn't…could she…?! Ew…!_

* * *

A/N: House-sitting rocks! Really gets the creative juices flowing.

Decided to end this one with a whimper rather than a bang. I could make a pun about the next couple of chapters, but I have a confession to make:

I cannot write lemons.

I'm sorry.

*whimper*


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

"I would have preferred a nice white dress," Aeris said as she adjusted the sleeves on her white robes, "But when in Seraph-land, do as the Seraphim do, I suppose,"

She and her mother were both sitting in the dressing room in the back of the temple, waiting for the ceremony to start.

Ifalna glanced at the additional tattoo Aeris now sported on her right wrist.

"That must have been painful," she remarked.

"It's actually not," said Aeris, "If we're ever able to go back home, I'd need to know the secret. I'd be rich. It's like they have a magic pen,"

Ifalna cringed, picturing droves of people sporting ugly body art everywhere.

"I think it might be worth looking into space travel again," Aeris went on, "I don't know anything about this Deux Terre. You said they told you Beud A'evori is the closest planet,"

"Given how conceited they were, they probably didn't think that planet was important enough to keep track of," Ifalna muttered.

"Yeah, I mean, I guess it's really hard to study history when you're learning it from different POVs," said Aeris, "Everything's so complicated here. Hey- here's a thought: maybe if we move there, we'll keep finding more ways to get closer to home,"

"Moving around costs money,"

"So we'll get a space motor-home and inch closer and closer to our destination,"

"Do those even exist?"

"Guess we'd better do some research," Aeris said with a shrug.

"Your friends really mean that much to you?" Ifalna asked, "You're so determined to see them again,"

"They do," Aeris said solemnly, "When I got sick, they always visited with me whenever they could. Also, one of the last memories I have before waking up in the hospital is was making plans to have a girls' night out at the Gold Saucer. I finally found people I felt I belonged with, Mama. I haven't felt that way since I was eleven. It's as if the Planet's voice separated me from the rest of the other children. My friends knew what I was, and didn't even bat an eye,"  
Ifalna looked wary. "Nobody outside of Cosmo Canyon ever knew what I was,"

"You shouldn't have to hide it, Mama,"

It wasn't long now before the ceremony would begin, so Ifalna decided to change the subject.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

Aeris sighed. "Underwhelmed,"

Ifalna looked confusedly at her daughter.

"Don't get me wrong- I'm not having second thoughts or anything. But..this isn't the big wedding every little girl dreams of," Aeris admitted, "Even you had the Elders of Cosmo Canyon officiating your wedding to Papa,"

"Maybe you can renew your vows when you arrive back home," Ifalna suggested.

"If any of my friends even remember me by then," said Aeris, "When you think about it, I only knew these people for six to eight weeks,"

"The guild still isn't offering you much of a social life?" Ifalna asked.

"It's as if a warning were branded on my forehead and I'm the only one who can't see it," said Aeris, "Between the incident at the end of the first mission, and people finding out about my being sick with Id's Death, people stay away from me as if I were still contagious. For such an advanced group of people, they sure hold onto some old superstitions,"

"I'm getting over it," Ifalna said dismissively, "We put our people on a pedestal. I think that was our first mistake. Almost as bad as people persecuting us because we were a different species. Idolizing ourselves isn't much better,"

"I guess you're right,"

Ifalna stood up. "Well, are you ready?"

Aeris stood up. "Let's do this," she giggled nervously.

* * *

Sephiroth stood at the entrance on the other side of the room. He wore blue robes, and his hair was neatly tied back.

Despite the baggy robes, Aeris still found him strikingly handsome as always. She couldn't help but bring her hand close to her mouth…just to make sure she wasn't drooling.

As instructed prior to the ceremony, Aeris and Sephiroth slowly made their way toward one another. When the two met, they took each others hand and walked up to the top of the altar, where the preacher stood. Ifalna and Gast trailed a good ten feet behind them, stopping about five feet away, as was the ritual for any witnesses invited to the ceremony.

"Well then," the preacher said with a smile, "Shall we begin…?"

* * *

"She's really gone now, isn't she?" Professor Gast asked quietly as he and Ifalna sat on their living room couch after the ceremony and celebratory dinner.

"She could have been gone a year ago," Ifalna admitted, "I think she stayed with us as long as she did for our benefit,"

"So…what now?"

"What you said at the ceremony…Faremis, you're right. And I'm ready to try again,"

"Are you sure?"

"Very sure,"

"If you insist…"

"O-_ho!_ Somebody's getting a little fresh now, isn't he?"

"Well, why not right now? We _are_ getting old,"

"Pff! _You're_ getting old,"

"Do you see any prescription bottles lying around?"

"Less talking, more loving,"

"Bossy…"

* * *

"Okay, so now I get to see what this big surprise is, right?" Aeris asked eagerly as they rode through the city in an elegant hovercraft, complete with a chauffeur.

"Honestly, when it comes to the word 'surprise', you're just as bad as you were when you were little," said Sephiroth.

"Stop comparing me now to when I was little!" Aeris complained, "I just married you, doofus! And for real, too- not like when I was little and used to force the little boy next door to play 'wedding',"

"You just wanted an excuse to kiss him,"

"I know. He really hated that, didn't he?"

"He must have been gay,"

"Or a five-year-old boy," Aeris pointed out.

"There it is," Sephiroth said as the craft they were in slowed down. He pointed out the window.

Aeris looked out to see what looked like a giant flying egg with windows everywhere. However, she had seen the commercials on TV to know it was…

"The Floating Inn?!" Aeris exclaimed, "You got us a room at the Floating Inn?!"

Sephiroth smiled. "Ah, so you've heard of it. I'm glad,"

"It's only the most talked-about resort in Gaspar City!" Aeris said as she got out, "Well? Come on, Sephy! I wanna get beamed up like they do in all the sci-fi movies back home!"

"You don't even like sci-fi,"

"So? Hurry up and get out!"

* * *

"Wasn't I supposed to carry you over the threshold?" Sephiroth asked as he followed an excited Aeris into their suite.

"I thought in light of being in a different culture, we could just tell tradition where to go," Aeris told him, "Oh wow- look! You can see the whole city from here!"

She ran over to the large window overlooking downtown Gaspar City.

"Seph, this room is amazing!" she exclaimed. She then saw something reflected in the glass and turned around. "Whoa- is that a king-sized bed?"

"Why yes it is," Sephiroth quipped dryly.

Aeris went over to the refrigerator and opened it. "Empty? What gives?"

"We do have room-service," Sephiroth reminded her as he gently grabbed her shoulder and led her away from the fridge. He then stopped in the middle of the suite. Without hesitation he kissed his new bride.

After a moment, he stepped back, noting that Aeris was slightly out-of-breath. He briefly wondered why it pleased him so much to know he was the reason.

"Sorry," Sephiroth whispered as he slowly backed her toward the bed, "But I've waited far too long to be able to do this…"

Aeris giggled. "Fine, I won't keep you waiting,"

"Good," Sephiroth said as he reached down and picked her up off her feet, carrying her the rest of the way.

"You _had_ to go with tradition anyway, huh…?"

* * *

Yes, he had harbored fantasies of her for some time. And for a while, he'd convinced himself that such fantasies were wrong, even disguting.

What a stupid idiot he'd been that whole time.

It had taken him a long time to realize that Aeris was no longer a little girl, but a young woman now.

But now, he was all too aware…not that he minded one bit.

* * *

He opened his eyes much later, after finally catching his breath. He noticed Aeris resting against his chest, a troubled look on her face.

"Something wrong?" Sephiroth asked.

"This wasn't your first time," Aeris sighed, "was it?"

Sephiroth looked away, feeling slightly guilty. "No, it wasn't,"

Aeris laughed sadly. "You thought I wouldn't figure it out? I mean, I know you're a very fast learner, but I remember all the first times you tried to do anything, you usually did fumble a bit. Like the first time you rode a motorcycle. You nearly wrecked it. That first time you tried cooking in the Ancient Forest, you almost set the campsite on fire. Or the time you played that pick-up game of football when I was five, and you practically took Dyne's head off when he showed you to spike the ball, and-"

"All right," Sephiroth butted in testily, "So I tend to leave a trail of destruction when I'm trying something new for the first time…" his voice then softened, "You're upset with me, aren't you?"

"No…" Aeris said as she ran her fingers idly up and down Sephiroth's shoulder, "Not really. You're older…it figures you might be experienced. I just wish you'd told me instead of letting me figure it out for myself,"

"I'm sorry,"

"It's okay. I just worry about whoever she was. Does she still have all of her limbs?"

"Oh, you're a scream,"

Aeris laughed.

"It was a few months after I'd moved to Midgar," Sephiroth told her.

"Oh, you mean that lady from Sector 8?"

"…How did you know about that?"

"Oh, Jessie had mentioned you'd been seeing some girl from there when she first joined Avalanche,"

"Oh…are you sure you're all right with this?"

"I guess." Aeris joked, "After all, you once again, learned quickly. Worked out for me in the end, right?"

There was silence for a few moments. Then Sephiroth spoke:

"There was also an incident in Costa Del Sol when we were living there…"

"Huh?"

"That night I came home late hunched over. You asked what was wrong and I told you I strained my back tripping over a garbage can lid in an alley. Well…I _did_ trip in the alley down the street…lost my balance leaning against a garbage can. I suppose that girl thought I was a loser. Just walked away in disgust,"

"Why were you leaning against a garbage can…?" a sudden realization hit her and she rolled away in disgust, "Oh, _Seph!_"

"Well, if we're going to start off this marriage right, I might as well be honest…"

"Please tell me she wasn't a hooker!"

"For Odin's sake, Aeris, of course not! It was some girl that worked one of the foodstands near the beach. She started following me around, and decided to lure me to a back alley one night,"

"Oh, so she was the predator?" Aeris snickered.

"She lured me," Sephiroth repeated.

"Fine. When I was eleven, I decided to try my first fire spell. It was while you were at work, and I…kinda was the one who set the tree on fire that day…"

Sephiroth's eyes widened. "That was you?! I blamed the local monsters and it was _you_ who did it? I went out of my way hunting them down because I thought they were getting too close, and I find out _you're_ the one who set fire to the tree?"

Aeris slid underneath the covers, pulling them over her head. "Sorry…" she said sheepishly, "Hey, _I_ didn't trip over a garbage can with my pants down!"

"I never said anything about my pants being down…" Sephiroth said defensively.

Aeris' head peaked out from under the covers. "I might be a little naïve, Sephy, but I know what loose girls like do to to guys in back alleys. I've seen the movies. It's practically cliché!"

"What movies…?"

"Hey! Not _those_ kinds of movies! I've seen this on network TV, mind you!"

"Ugh, fine," Sephiroth grumbled, "Fine. Any other truths you need to get off your chest?"

"Well…there was the time I was three and I put Papa's shaving foam on your face when you were sleeping, but Mama caught me and cleaned the mess off you. You didn't even wake up!"

"I hope you weren't carrying a razor as well,"

"Nope. I used to think that the foam was what made Papa's mustache grow, so I put it on you to see if you'd grow one too. Who knew you'd never even be able to grow sideburns, let alone a beard?"

Sephiroth sighed. "I don't know many eleven-year-olds with beards. But thank goodness for toddlers' logic. Saved me from getting my throat slit,"

Aeris had emerged from the covers once more and snuggled closer to Sephiroth again.

"Other than that, it was okay?" Sephiroth asked.

"Mm-hmm,"

"It didn't hurt at all?"

"Nope,"

"I thought it was always supposed to hurt the first time for women,"

"Yeah…well, remember when I was thirteen and had that little tree-climbing accident?"

"I do remember that. You got a pretty nasty bump on your head from that fall. Not to mention that the neighbor's grandson called you "Duckie" because you were walking funny all weekend…oh…" Sephiroth suddenly realized.

"I kinda figured it out just now myself," Aeris admitted, "So don't worry about that. Everything was good,"

"Well, little mage...if you don't mind being married to a lecherous man who leaves a trail of destruction when trying something new," Sephiroth spoke after a few moments, "…then would you be interested in round two?"

Aeris snickered before climbing over Sephiroth until she was hovering directly above him.

"Hmm…" Sephroth mused, "Seems like I'm not the only quick study…"

Aeris immediately pressed her lips against Sephiroth's, managing to shut him up.

_Or I can just stop talking and enjoy myself…_Sephiroth thought as he kissed her back.

* * *

A/N: Sorry- I can't write lemons, even if Aeriseph ones are all the rage these days... I'm very good at reading them, but when it comes to writing them, I'm like the cartoon chameleon who encounters a plaid background, throws himself on the ground and screams "I CAN'T DO IT! I CAN'T DO IT! I JUST CA-AN'T DOOOOO IIIIIIIIT!"

Also, sorry if the wedding itself was a tad anti-climactic. The full ceremony is in the prologue of "Spark of Sedition". Yes- bad minstrel for putting everything out of order!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

Two months after the wedding and honeymoon, daily life had pretty much returned to normal, with the exception of Aeris now living with Sephiroth. Moving in had only taken one day, but re-arranging the place so that Aeris' clothes and books would fit had been tricky. And Aeris insisted the next day that they clean the place from top to bottom.

"Seriously! How long has it been since you mopped this kitchen?" Aeris had asked, "Actually…uh…do you even _have_ a mop?"

"…Yes,"

"So where is it, then?"

"…It's being fixed,"

"Less than two weeks into the marriage and he's already lying to me," Aeris had muttered.

"I have a dust-buster,"

"No, Sephy,"

"This is still my apartment too. I should be able to wear a week-old pair of underwear to breakfast if I want to, let alone worry about a linoleum floor,"

"Those days are gone, Sephy,"

"Says who?"

"It's the rules,"

"What rules?"

"We all give up something in exchange for readily available sex,"

"Oh, that was just hilarious. What on earth did you give up?"

"Do you see any of my old boy-band CDs lying around?"

"Guilty pleasures are not a sacrifice,"

"Dirty floors aren't something to be guilty of?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't read the marriage manual. Especially the part that says that the wife will spontaneously combust if the floor isn't shiny. Incidentally, had you ever been over Biggs, Wedge and Jessie's place?"

"Oh, come on! I've seen Jessie having belching contests with Biggs. Unless they hire a maid, they're all hopeless…I'm sure you're not regretting marrying _me_ instead of them, are you?"

"……"

"Seph!!"

Still, it wasn't long before Aeris began waking up with headaches. Brushing it off as stress from an increasing workload, she simply popped a couple pain relievers every morning and headed off to work.

It wasn't until one afternoon when Sephiroth had gotten out of work early, come back home only to see Aeris' cloak lying on the floor near the bathroom, that he realized anything was out of the ordinary.

"Aeris?" Sephiroth called out.

He immediately heard the sound of a toilet flushing. A moment later, Aeris came out of the bathroom.

"Why aren't you at work?" he asked.

"They let me go home early," Aeris replied weakly, "So I went to see a doctor,"

Sephiroth looked concerned. "Are you feeling all right? Why didn't you just have your father look at you?"

"He wasn't home. Sephy…sit down,"

"Why?" Sephiroth asked, instantly alarmed. He briefly wondered if Aeris might be having a relapse.

"We need to get a bigger place," Aeris told him as she gathered her cloak and sat down in the kitchen.

"Don't change the subject,"

"I'm not!" Aeris snapped irritably, "Can you shut up for one minute while I talk??"

Sephiroth's eyes widened at his wife's sudden change in demeanor.

"We need a place with two bedrooms. One room for you and me…and another room…for the baby,"

Sephiroth stared at Aeris, his face frozen in shock.

Aeris waved a hand in front of him. "Hey…are…you okay?"

"You…" Sephiroth was at a loss for words.

"Me,"

"A baby?"

"It's yours too," Aeris reminded him.

"How…?"

"Well, Sephy, when a man and a woman-"

"-Don't get cute. I thought we took all the proper…precautions,"

"Yeah…uh…well, turns out…we really need to brush up on reading the newer Cetran script,"

"The bottle said wait until one week after you started. It's supposed to be 100% guarenteed!"

"It _is_! But…the script for 'one' and 'three' look very similar,"

"……"

"Seph," Aeris repeated, "Are you going to be okay?"

"A child…living with us…"

"Yes, that's what usually happens in these situations,"

"…Is it a boy or a girl?"

Aeris shrugged. "I don't know,"

"You can't tell?"

"Seph, I'm a demi-Cetra, not a psychic. Mama didn't know either when she had me,"

"That reminds me…your mother is…thirty-six?"

"Yeah,"

"I don't think many thirty-six-year-olds take pleasure in becoming grandparents,"

"Oh no…." Aeris moaned and hid her face in her hand, "People already look at Mama weird. They think she had me when she was like, twelve. This isn't gonna look good,"

"Forget about it. To hell what everyone else thinks. They don't know anything,"

"But we're having dinner with Mama and Papa tonight. I have to tell them!"

"So we'll tell them," Sephiroth said, "Then tomorrow, we…what are we supposed to do?"

"Find a doctor, mage…whatever they have here for pregnancies,"

"Do you think they have those…you know…the breathing classes?"

"Maybe they don't even need the breathing. Maybe they can just teleport the baby out of the mother. Regardless, we've got a lot of research to do. Seriously, Sephy…how do you feel about this?"

"Surprised,"

"Besides that,"

Sephiroth put his hand on Aeris' stomach.

"Well…I certainly didn't mind you…it's half yours…I suppose I'll get to like it when I get to know it,"

"How logical," Aeris grumbled.

"I'm sorry, would you rather I pull a string quartet out of my pocket and give a heartfelt speech on how much I love you, it scares me?"

"It does?" Aeris looked surprised.

"No! I gave you a honeymoon in the Floating Inn. What more do you want from me?"

"Might as well have been a motel for all the times we left the bed…and _that's_ why we need a new apartment! Sex is expensive…"

"What are you- my client? Ugh. Fine. We should have been more careful, but now that what's done is done…we don't need to panic. We make enough money combined to support a child…I hope you're not having twins,"

Aeris nodded in agreement.

"I wonder who it'll look like," Sephiroth mused, "I always wondered if silver hair was a dominant gene or not,"

Aeris ran her hand through Sephiroth's hair. "Ooh! I want it to have hair just like yours!"

"I guess we'll find out eventually. Now that I think about it, it's probably a good thing your father wasn't home,"

"Ya _think…??_"

* * *

Aeris glanced at her menu, written in the neo-Cetran script. She had ordered the number 2 special, and just hoped that she'd read the menu correctly. The last thing she needed was for the waiter to bring out a freshly-killed octopus and tell her to enjoy.

"Nice restaurant," Sephiroth commented as he glanced around for a moment before going back to his menu. He nudged Aeris. "This does say 'meatballs'…right?"

Aeris couldn't help but smile as she nodded. So Sephiroth was thinking the same thing as her.

"So what's the occasion?" she asked her parents, "You never go out to dinner just out of the blue,"

Ifalna and the professor looked at each other, a knowing look in their eyes.

"All right," Ifalna confessed, "Well, we felt like celebrating tonight, and wanted to include the two of you in it,"

"So what exactly is this big celebration?" Sephiroth asked.

Gast and Ifalna looked at each other again, before Ifalna spoke:

"We're going to have a baby!"

Aeris and Sephiroth's eyes widened in surprise.

"I…" Sephiroth was at a loss of words, "Well…congratulations,"

"Aeris?" Gast looked at his daughter, waiting to hear what she had to say.

"Wow!!!" Aeris burst out laughing nervously, "…Me too!"

Her parents stared at her.

"I…I'm sorry I had to steal your thunder, Mama," Aeris said, "But that really is a crazy coincidence, huh?"

"You're…pregnant too?" Ifalna asked incredulously.

"Yeah, 'grandma'," Aeris giggled.

The giggle abruptly died in her throat as she saw her mother glaring at her.

"That lady who slowed down traffic on the way to this restaurant was a 'grandma'," Ifalna said pointedly.

"Yes, but honey-" Gast began, but cut himself off when Ifalna began staring dangerously at him.

"So does this mean we'll have nine months of you two sharing pickles and whipped cream while watching soaps?" Sephiroth asked, trying to ease the sudden tension.

Gast burst out laughing, "Oh, Sephiroth- don't you remember? It was toast and breadsticks, which she'd dip in honey mustard,"

"Hmm…you're right,"

"Stop!" Aeris whined, "I'd rather not get morning sickness right here,"

"You'll learn to love it, sweetie," Ifalna teased her.

"Let's talk about something else," Aeris suggested, "Have you seen a specialist yet about this? I only found out today, so I haven't had time,"

"Make one first thing tomorrow," Gast told her, "We saw one yesterday,"

"And how do they get the baby out?" Aeris asked hopefully.

Gast stared confusedly at his daughter.

"Well, you push, and hopefully nature takes its course, and they have the doctors there to help out…?" he said slowly.

"I suppose you were hoping they could zap the baby out of you?" Ifalna asked, a knowing smirk on her face, "Sorry. It's the same thing here,"

"People here have messed-up priorities," Aeris grumbled, "They'll try to find you the perfect underwear when you're getting married, but they don't try to advance medical science?"

"Aeris, it's natural to be scared of the pain, but trust me, it's all worth it in the end," Ifalna reassured her.

"Exactly," Gast chimed in.

"Sympathy pains _do not count!_" Ifalna stated as she rolled her eyes.

"What about our plans?" Sephiroth asked suddenly.

"Huh?" everyone looked at him.

"We were going to look into relocating to Deux Terre, but is it a wise choice given what's happening now?"

"I don't see what the problem is," said Ifalna, "Pregnant women have done more strenuous things in history, and everything turned out fine. The closer we are to our home, the better. It's already been over two years since the gate stopped functioning,"

"And everyone probably thinks I'm dead," Aeris added, "I say we keep going,"

Gast raised his glass of water. "A toast, then!" he declared, "To going home, and opening people's minds! Here's hoping no one with unusual DNA is ever persecuted there again!"

"Here, here!" everyone raised their glasses.

* * *

"So…" Sephiroth said as he and Aeris walked home from the specialist the next day, "We've got seven-and-a-half months to prepare for this,"

"Well, it's a good thing we got a place with a month-to-month lease" Aeris figured, "We'll look for a place in Deux Terre, preferably with the same lease terms. Two bedrooms, just to be safe. We don't know how long we'll be there,"

"It's good to be able to leave at a moment's notice," Sephiroth agreed, "What about the guild, though?"

"They have a mandatory maternity leave that begins at four months," said Aeris, "The good news is that it's a paid leave,"

"I'm glad the pregnancy seems to be normal…so far," Sephiroth admitted, "I've been reading up on second-generation Seraph hybrids. Some of them come out with horns, fangs, even ingrown wings,"

"I've read up on that too. And there's corrective surgery for all of that if we think it's best. Personally, I think our baby would look cute with little fangs…so long as he or she isn't a biter- and don't chime in telling me if I was or wasn't a biter as a baby!"

"……"

"What's the matter now?" Aeris asked teasingly.

"I'm not exactly the kind of person who gets down and plays with children,"

"So I'll play with them, while you teach them swordplay, and take them for walks in the woods,"

"You don't think they'll take it personally for not playing 'Duck, Duck, Goose' with them?"

"I think they'll understand that your 'macho factor' means a lot to you," Aeris laughed.

"No tea parties?"

"I'll do the tea parties,"

"No dress-up?"

"We'll buy them a giant stuffed animal just for that,"

Sephiroth looked visibly relieved.

"The great Sephiroth, who faced WEAPON, Jenova, numerous monsters, and the Shinra military without batting an eye, yet he's afraid of a future daughter putting a girly hat on him and making him sip pretend tea,"

"Perhaps if I had a couple hits of Silly Moogle…"

"No, Sephy,"

"That was a joke, my dear. Let's go get lunch,"

"Now you're talking!" Aeris exclaimed.

"You already have a huge appetite. What am I going to do when the cravings hit?"

"Oh, you'll think of something,"

"I feel so much better…" Sephiroth grumbled.

* * *

A/N: So just to let you all know, I plan to finish this first before continuing on "Spark". Working on two stories like this simultaneously is just asking for major continuity errors.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

"Sunlight!" Aeris cheered as she stepped off the ship, "Deux Terre is absolutely gorgeous!"

Sephiroth winced as he put on his sunglasses. He had purchased them shortly before he and Aeris had boarded the ship taking them to the rural planet. They were said to be custom-made for a Seraph's eyes, preventing them from getting the mild headaches that had plagued Sephiroth throughout most of his life.

"Our things had better be intact when we find them," Sephiroth grumbled, "For all the money we spent on moving everything,"

"Guess we'll just have to hurry up and get the keys to our new places," said Aeris.

"I still don't feel comfortable about signing a lease without actually setting foot inside the apartment," said Sephiroth, "What if they were swindling us?"

Aeris shrugged. "Then you give them that mean look and pull Masamune out ever-so-slightly until they wet their pants and give us our money back,"

"Why must I always be the scary one? Can't you be the psychotic pregnant lady? I'm sure you'd get away with it,"

"I'm barely even showing!" Aeris protested.

"Mostly because you've taken to wearing peasant blouses since you found out," Sephiroth teased her.

"It's been getting colder!" Aeris protested.

Two months after the revelation of Aeris and Ifalna's respective pregnancies, the two couples immediately began making preparations to move. Aeris had gotten herself reassigned to the geographically underdeveloped areas of the planet, while Sephiroth had found out about nearby towns that were being developed, knowing he'd be able to get any construction job. Professor Gast and Ifalna had figured that doctors and healers might be appreciated in areas like that.

However, upon further research, it had been discovered that Deux Terre was actually a mostly Hume colony. While Ifalna had begun to feel secure in the giant melting pot that was Gaspar City, she had become wary about being a minority again.

Aeris had tried to reassure her that having a relative in the White Mages Guild pretty much guarenteed immunity in any country.

"If you get a cold and they try to push any experimental medication on you, even a low-level member like me can get the embassy surrounding the doctor in a matter of minutes," Aeris had pointed out.

However, two weeks before everyone was set to leave, Ifalna had begun to experience panic attacks and nightmares, suddenly terrified of leaving the security she had grown used to for several months, even more afraid for her unborn child.

Finally, Gast decided to call off the move on his and Ifalna's parts, fearing for Ifalna and the baby's health.

Disappointed, but understanding, Aeris and Sephiroth had boarded the shuttle alone.

"Post-traumatic stress," Sephiroth guessed as he and Aeris rode in the cab taking them to their new apartment, "She went through a lot in her life,"

"I guess I always thought Mama was tough-as-nails," Aeris admitted, "…Sephy…did that happen to you too?"

Sephiroth stared out the window.

"Nevermind. You don't have to tell me if you don't-," Aeris began.

"Nightmares…and I'd occasionally encase myself in a magical barrier if…anything scared me,"

"What scared you?"

"…The northern lights,"

Aeris stared bemusedly at her husband.

"Yes, I was afraid of flashing lights that I had never seen before. I was seven," Sephiroth growled defensively.

Aeris covered her mouth, trying not to show her amusement. For a moment, she was tempted to tease her husband over his little confession, but knowing that the confession had to do with the first seven years of his life, she knew better.

Over the years, Aeris had seen what residual effects Sephiroth had from his days in the lab. News reports of child exploitation would send him storming out into the night, not coming back for at least an hour. Seeing corrupt businessmen get sentenced to jail on court TV always put a satisfied smirk on his face. And when the couple would pass by a playground full of children, Aeris always wondered what her husband was thinking when his eyes traveled to the children sitting by themselves.

Perhaps Aeris would never truly know what went through Sephiroth's head, but if a stony silence was the worst reaction, she could feel nothing but pride towards Sephiroth for handling his demons in a non-detrimental way. She was sure her mother would also be all right again, especially knowing her mother was starting to see a therapist; something Aeris knew far too well Sephiroth would never, ever, _ever_ do.

"Hmm?" Sephiroth glanced down at his hand, which Aeris had tightened hers around.

"We're doing alright," Aeris said absently, "We've come really far…I guess I'm just happy,"

"That's all that matters to me," said Sephiroth.

The two rode on in contented silence.

* * *

Sephiroth sighed that night as he felt nothing once again. Slowly, he eased his hand off of his sleeping wife's stomach.

Why was he so eager to feel the same tiny flutter he'd felt nearly twenty years ago with Aeris? From what he remembered, those flutters had slightly freaked him out.

When had Aeris first started kicking? He couldn't remember. Surely one of the books he'd been given by Aeris must have mentioned that point in the pregnancy. He had wanted to read the books, he really had, but the overtime he was being offered at the two construction sites he was working at was too tempting, especially if it would provide financial security to his child.

He then rolled his eyes. Most likely, GP could not be exchanged with Gil, so unless the kid went back to the Cetran Empire to pursue higher education, the money would be worthless once they got back home.

Yet, it would still be worth going back home. Despite his rather lukewarm relationship with his own father, he hoped his own child could look up to his paternal grandfather. Plus, Sephiroth knew it would be hilarious to see Vincent interact with a baby.

He already wanted to go camping in the Ancient Forest with the kid when he or she was old enough. It was where he and Aeris had learned to fish, and he thought it might be a good place to teach his own offspring. Teaching the child swordplay would be fun, as it had actually been fun teaching Aeris when they were kids.

"Should I go back to sleep and leave the two of you alone?" Aeris murmured, her eyes still closed.

"You're awake…" Sephiroth stated the obvious.

"You keep putting your hand on my stomach, taking it off, putting it back on…it's not going to be kicking yet,"

"Sorry," Sephiroth said as he slid back under the covers, "Just can't stop thinking and wondering,"

"Wondering what?"

"Well…will I have a telepathic link to this baby?"

"Oh, I never thought of that. I know it will hear the voices of the planets, though it may be faint,"

"We should congratulate ourselves," Sephiroth grumbled, "We're creating a schizophrenic,"

"Don't say that ever again," Aeris said sharply.

Sephiroth stared at his wife confusedly, until he remembered why what he'd said had made her angry.

"I forgot," he said softly, "I'm sorry,"

"How could you forget? You actually stooped to that kid's level that day,"

Sephiroth sighed. It was true. After Aeris' first day at school in Fort Condor, a boy had caught her in a trance. Usually, Aeris waited until she was away from the eyes of others to speak to the Planet, but according to Aeris, the Planet had been singing a beautiful song that she couldn't help herself.

What started as teasing at recess that day escalated as the boy gathered his friends together to harass Aeris the entire way home from school. While Aeris tried to outrun them, they kept up chanting "Schizo! Schizo! Schizo!"

What they hadn't counted on was running into a very irate Sephiroth right before Fort Condor. The nineteen-year-old hadn't said anything. He'd simply marched right up to the ringleader, put him in a very tight headlock, and marched him over behind a nearby shed. Calmly, he returned alone a minute later, put a hand on Aeris' shoulder, and walked her back home.

When the other kids finally dared to go see what fate had befallen their fearless leader, they found him hanging on the branch of a tree, his feet only about a half a foot off the ground. His tighty-whities were the only thing suspending him, and he was already crying tears of humiliation.

There were no incidents like that ever again.

"I wonder if they still remember 'The Wedgiemaster' today?" Aeris giggled.

"I'll stop talking right now and let you get your beauty sleep if you don't call me that," Sephiroth growled as he turned over.

"At least you didn't punch the kid,"

"And cave in his face? I think it would take a lot more than any namecalling to ever want to injure someone weaker,"

"Well, I'm just glad this little one's going to have a daddy that can scare away all the nasty kids in the neighborhood,"

"Fair enough," Sephiroth yawned, "But I need time to think about how to handle any incidents. I think I'm a little too old to go about it the way I did then,"

"You're also tired," Aeris said as she leaned over and gave her husband a peck on the forehead, "Let's both get some sleep,"

"Mm-hmm…" Sephiroth mumbled, already drifting off.

* * *

"Sephy…"

Sephiroth didn't move.

"Hey!" Aeris began poking him repeatedly in the head.

"Huh-?!" Sephiroth lurched awake.

"This is a teen pregnancy," Aeris realized.

"Wha-? What time is it?" Sephiroth looked around and saw the clock. It was a quarter after three.

"I'm a teen mother, Sephy!" Aeris panicked, "I'm a statistic!"

"You'd only be a statistic if you were single," Sephiroth pointed out sleepily.

"But I'm still young! What if I don't know what I'm doing?"

"As if I knew what I were doing?"

"Great!" Aeris snapped, "So we're just gonna be sucky parents then!"

"We are _not_ going to be 'sucky' parents. You've seen too many movies-of-the-week,"

"Most of them are based on true stories,"

"I am not going to listen to this…" Sephiroth rolled over.

"Yes you are!" Aeris exclaimed as she tried to turn him back to face her.

"No, actually, I'm not," Sephiroth shrugged off her hands.

"This is a serious problem!" Aeris argued.

"Unless there's a flood, or a fire, or an earthquake, or a hurricane, nothing is a problem at 3:17 in the morning. Go fix yourself a snack or something. You'll feel better,"

"No,"

"Then go watch TV…just let me sleep,"

"…So…you just don't care," Aeris' voice was shaking.

Sephiroth grimaced. _Oh no, not this…I can take the cravings, the dizzy spells, the crankiness, but Kjata alive, not the mood swings one always hears about!_

"I can't talk to you if you're going to get like this-," Sephiroth tried to say.

"Oh, so it's all my fault!" Aeris bawled.

"I didn't say-!"

"Just blame it on the crazy pregnant wife!" Aeris went on.

"Kindly stop putting words into my mouth," Sephiroth growled.

"Fine! We're going to have a snack!" Aeris got out of bed and stalked off to the kitchen.

Sephiroth threw his hands into the air. "Wonderful!" he called out, "I get to sleep finally!"

"Bastard!"

"Only in the technical sense!" he answered indifferently, not even shocked at Aeris' language.

* * *

"They do _what?!_" Sephiroth exclaimed the next morning as he spoke on the phone with Professor Gast.

"_Look, Seph- to be honest, I thought it wouldn't happen to Aeris given she's half-human…not to mention she's probably the most emotionally stable of our little gene-pool,_"

"You're not an expert on genetics to be making such assumptions, Professor," Sephiroth growled, "A little forewarning would have been appreciated!"

"_Weren't Ifalna's night terrors enough proof when she was pregnant with Aeris?_"

Sephiroth blanched. "Are you saying those screams were _her_ nightmares and not my own?!"

"_You were a very resilient little boy, and I'm proud of you for bouncing back so fast-!_"

"Do _not_ joke around. That screaming frightened me to no end, sleeping or not. Brought back too many memories. So that's twice you lied to me by omission. I should be very hurt by this. Sure, Vincent is my biological father, but the only reason I never called you 'Daddy' is because I'd called you 'Professor' all of my life,"

"…_You really know how to guilt a man into feeling like scum, huh? All right. As you've already seen, a pregnant Cetra can have different…difficulties than a pregnant human. The cravings, headaches, and nausea are still there, but somehow, the moodswings only come out subconsciously. Actually, in the olden days, women were either strapped to a bed, kept awake, or encased in what was essentially a breathable coffin,_"

"I think Aeris would put me in a coffin first before I tried to put her in something like that, especially since there's a brief history of men in my family sleeping in them. But I can understand why it's not done anymore. Seems rather demeaning to say the least. So what do I do?"

"_Some couples sleep in different bedrooms during the pregnancy_-," Gast began to say.

"-Is there another solution?" Sephiroth interrupted his father-in-law quickly, before realizing that was probably a very tactless thing to say like that.

"…_Or_…" Gast said after a brief, awkward silence, "_Get used to 'pretending' along with her. If she thinks she's on a sinking ship, for Odin's sake, you let her think she got on that lifeboat and she's safe. She'll probably fall back asleep when she feels safe_,"

"So…the right thing to do last night would have been to reassure her mindlessly that everything will be alright no matter what?"

"_When a person is sleepwalking, it's a perfectly acceptable to reassure them blindly if it means they'll go back to sleep. Did you think you would be lying if you told her everything would be all right?_"

"…Yes,"

"_Sephiroth, I believe you're scared_,"

"……"

"_I'm sure after all the adventures you've had in your life, you thought this would be a breeze, but it's still an unpredictable maze you have to navigate through, parenthood_,"

"……"

"_Seph, I know you're listening, even if you're not responding. Admitting to Aeris you're worried isn't a bad thing…unless she's having prenatal sleepwalking episodes. Then, as far as she's concerned, you are the man who would move moutains for her, and you don't fail_,"

"What if I do fail?"

"_At paying lip-service to your own heroics? Sephiroth, you might be introverted, but you're an eloquent speaker. You'd have to be drunk to make Aeris feel threatened during an episode_,"

"Or just brutally honest," Sephiroth mumbled, "How long does this last?"

"_It's usually over by the third trimester_," said Gast.

"That's still over three months away!" Sephiroth exclaimed.

"_And in those three months, your imagination will be very much enriched. Furthermore, I'm not saying it happens every single night_,"

"Thank you, Professor," Sephiroth said sarcastically, "I'm looking forward to acting out improv theatre every time Aeris gets that 'I'm only half-here' look in her eyes,"

Gast began to laugh. "_Role-playing isn't just something done with twelve-sided dice_,"

"Or in sleazy motels," Sephiroth quipped, feeling slightly passive-aggressive with his father-in-law.

"_What was that_?"

"Hmm? Did you say something?"

"…_Nevermind. Look, if they get out of control, I've already found out there's medication women can take_,"

"Is there any medication the fathers can take too?"

"_Well, back home, it was called 'alcohol'_,"

"Hillarious, Professor,"

"_I know I am. I've got to get back to work, but call me if she gets really bad. And really bad means surpassing her mother in her crazy night-time pregnant antics, so I think you'll be okay. Do you have any further questions before I hang up?_"

_Yes,_ Sephiroth mused internally._ Do these episodes ever involve the woman getting really horny with a touch of oral fixation?_

"Not that I can think of," Sephiroth answered out loud.

"_Hang in there, kid. You had a small shock, but you're both fine. How's Aeris now?_"

"Okay, I suppose. She went for a walk..."

* * *

"Mama…" Aeris said slowly, trying not to yell into her PHS, "Don't you think, that maybe, just maybe, if you'd told me Cetra mothers-to-be have sleepwalking episodes, I could have avoided waking up behind the couch? With my hand still inside a jar of cookies, no less?"

Ifalna burst out laughing on the other end of the line.

"Why do you always laugh when something bad happens to me?" Aeris asked irritably.

"_Bad? Sweetie- Id's Death was bad. And believe me, I was not laughing then. But pushy lingerie saleswomen and a couch fort, not to mention bickering with your husband in your sleep…it's funny!_

"_Aeris, I also didn't have anyone to tell me this would happen to me. So I know how you feel. But your father made a good point about how this might not even happen to you, given that it only happens to about a quarter of Cetra woman. I guess you're just special_,"

"I've been looking at that website 'OurVids', and people have uploaded videos of much worse episodes," Aeris admitted, "One woman even thought she was a pirate,"

"_See? That's a better attitude to have_,"

"I guess…"

* * *

"So here we are," Aeris said awkwardly that night as she stood on one side of the bed, and Sephiroth the other.

"We have to sleep sometime," Sephiroth sighed.

"If I do anything stupid…I'm sorry?" Aeris said as she tentatively got under the covers.

"I apologize in advance as well. If you have night terrors like your mother did, I'm casting a mute spell on you for my own sanity,"

Aeris pouted briefly.

Sephiroth joined her under the covers. "This is uncomfortable, I'll admit it. Just know, you're worth it,"

Aeris snickered, looking slightly more relaxed. "Love you too, Sephy,"

"Goodnight," Sephiroth kissed his wife.

After a minute of silence, Aeris spoke:

"Maybe I'll be a lion-tamer tonight,"

"Was that supposed to be suggestive?"

"Ugh!" Aeris pulled the covers over her head, knowing full well she had walked right into that one.

* * *

A/N: I confess that I feel like I'm taking a risk this chapter with the sleepwalking. The risk being of finding myself on GAFF, fanficrants, and various MSTs. In other words…  
LEAP OF FAAAAAAIIIIIIIITH!!!!!!!!!


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

"Mail's here," Sephiroth announced as he waved a few envelopes and a catalogue in front of Aeris before setting them down on the kitchen table.

"Oh- nice! Another catalogue!" Aeris exclaimed as she opened up a small booklet filled with pictures of baby items.

"Aeris, in four months, that baby will be here and we'll still be getting these in the mail,"

"It'll still need stuff once it's out," Aeris reminded her husband as she rolled her eyes.

"'It'. I'm really hating that. For the love of Shiva, can we please let the doctor tell us what it is?"

"No! I like surprises!"

"And I hate them,"

"All it means is that we buy brown and white clothing until the baby's born. Then we can go with pink or green if it's a girl, or blue or grey if it's a boy. One thing I like here is the colors for babies are a lot more flexible,"

"Pink will NOT go with silver hair, just so you know," said Sephiroth.

"Yeah, I was thinking if it's a girl with silver hair, I might go with purple. Here, check it out…"

Aeris went over to the coat rack and picked up her lavender hoodie. She then went over to Sephiroth and hung the hood over his head.

"I think they go well together," she said, satisfied.

"Get that thing off of my head right now," Sephiroth said flatly.

Aeris giggled as she took the hoodie and hung it back up. She then stopped short.

"Sephy- it's kicking again!"

"I've heard that one before," Sephiroth muttered as he opened up an envelope containing a bill.

"Aww, Sephy…!"

"That child is already trying to mess with my head,"

"Sephy, I don't know why it stops the minute you put your hand on my stomach,"

"Because our child is already an evil prankster making a liar out of its mother," Sephiroth deadpanned,

Aeris promptly kicked him lightly in the shins.

"Aren't children supposed to take example from their parents, and not vice-versa?"

Aeris blew a raspberry as she sat down and picked up an envelope. She opened it and took out the letter inside. Upon reading it, her brow furrowed.

"What's that?" Sephiroth asked.

"Heck if I know," Aeris said as she shook her head, "Just a personal invite to the spaceport…wait a second!"

"What?"

"This letter has a guild seal on it. Don't they know I can't work right now?"

"What do you want to do?"

Aeris shrugged. "I might as well go so I can straighten this out,"

* * *

"Why are you wearing your robes if you're on maternity leave?" Sephiroth asked as the two got off the bus leading to the spaceport.

Aeris shrugged. "Why did they send me an official guild summons if I'm on maternity leave? I figure I should just be safe,"

"Looks like there's some kind of construction going on behind the place," Sephiroth observed.

"And I see a fair amount of white mages there as well," Aeris said before quickening her pace and heading over to the site.

"Excuse me!" Aeris called out to the man who seemed to be supervising the entire operation, "I'm Aeris Crescent-Valentine, I was summoned here?"

She held up her letter with the guild seal.

The man turned to look at Aeris. "Ah, yes. The person you want to talk to is over in that tent healing the morons who already managed to get themselves injured,"

Feeling increasingly puzzled over what was happening, Aeris made her way toward the tents, each marked with the guild logo.

"How about we go grab a bite when we're both done?" an injured man was asking the mage tending to him.

"How about I finish off by casting a 'confuse' spell on you and sending you home?" a familiar female voice asked sarcastically.

"Wait a second…!" Aeris said.

The mage turned around and grinned.

"Bet you thought you'd never see me again," Ingrid scoffed.

"Ingrid, what is all this?" Aeris asked.

"Well, as far as you're concerned, it's your ticket home," Ingrid replied.

"Come again?" Sephiroth asked.

"Let's just say I had the right connections," Ingrid said smugly, "I have relatives in the shuttle-building industry,"

"I thought you said you were an orphan," said Aeris.

Ingrid nodded. "I am. But being an orphan means you don't have parents. I _do_ have a cousin, though. He's the doofus running the whole thing!!" she finished loudly.

The supervisor didn't look at her, but made a flicking motion in her direction, which Aeris had long since learned was the equivalent for flipping the bird.

"I've also got some friends in another lesser-known group. An independent group of space travelers. Well, I told them about your planet, and they were sooooo intrigued. So I thought I might orchestrate a little something. And obviously, I might as well call you,"

"I can't believe this…" Aeris said as she sat down in one of the chairs, "This is too easy all of a sudden,"

"Aeris- don't look a gift-chocobo in the beak," said Sephiroth, "This is our chance, and we need to take it. Still, it _is_ a remarkably selfless gesture on your part," he looked at Ingrid.

"I liked the stories Aeris told me about where you came from," said Ingrid, "So I wanted to see the place for myself, but not before tracking you down. I figured you guys deserved first dibs,"

"See? Sometimes it does pay to make friends," Aeris teased Sephiroth.

"How long would we be travelling?" Sephiroth asked warily.

"I have to admit, it may take over two years to arrive at our destination, but I was able to speak to Beud A'Evori's officials and get the co-ordinates of your home planet," Ingrid explained, "So we should have the exact location. We won't get lost, and even if there's no other solar systems with life-sustaining planets on the way, we'll have enough fuel to get there. Plus, the ship we'll be travelling on does use hydroponics. We won't starve either,"

"How about that?" Aeris said to her stomach, "You're gonna be born in space! How cool is that?"

"Wait- how safe is that?" Sephiroth butted in.

"Safe enough that over 3 million babies have been born in space," Ingrid explained patiently, "Look- I wouldn't do anything to put anyone in danger. Besides…your wife isn't someone whose bad side I want to get on,"

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at Aeris, who looked up at him as if to say, "Who? Me?"

"However, it's not recommended that the mother-to-be travel before she's reached three months,"

"Well, I'm at five, so I'm fine," said Aeris, "Though you can't tell with this on,"

She gestured at her mage robes.

"That's fine. We should be ready to leave in about a month,"

"Yay! My episodes should be over by then! That means I won't sleepwalk in space!" Aeris cheered.

"Figures you'd be a sleepwalker," Ingrid laughed.

"I guess we'd better get ready to move again," said Sephiroth.

"We'll get the crib and all the necessary baby things, and then we're off!" Aeris cheered.

"Ingrid," Sephiroth said as he stepped closer to the mage, "I don't know what to say, except, we're very much obliged,"

"What can I say? I'm an explorer at heart, and this benefits us all. Now, I didn't know you were pregnant, else I'd have asked you to help with the injured workers. But since you _are_, I guess you should go home and do whatever it is pregnant women do,"

"Annoy their husbands with bizarre grocery lists, mostly," Sephiroth deadpanned.

Aeris elbowed her husband lightly.

* * *

"I'm going home, I'm going home!" Aeris chanted in a sing-song tone as they walked back home from the bus stop.

"Aeris, I love you, but you've been doing that for a full minute," Sephiroth said flatly, "Enough,"

"Somebody's having moodswings," Aeris teased.

"Well, I didn't take my pre-natal vitamins today, and I didn't get to land the rocket ship on Planet X last night. Forgive me if I'm a little cranky,"

"Ugh! You men are so emotional,"

"Well, maybe if you paid me a little more attention to me instead of the TV, I'd be a little more patient. And furthermore, just remember, _you_ did this to me!"

Aeris couldn't keep a straight face anymore and burst out laughing.

"Did I really think I was an astronaut?" she managed to ask.

"It was a welcome change from when you were 'shopping' and tried to shove me out of the way so you could get in line at the checkout counter. Seriously- is that how you shop when you're awake? Or are we just getting rid of hidden aggressions as well?"

"Fine. Maybe I'll be a fire-fighter again,"

"Aeris, I will lock you in a closet and convince you that you're an embryo if you _ever_ try to climb a tree in your condition again,"

"How was I supposed to rescue the kitty?"

"There was no 'kitty' in the tree. Just me nearly killing myself trying to get you and the baby down from there. Why can't you be a rock when you sleepwalk? They don't move. Or…" he leered, "how about a lady of the night?"

Aeris opened the door to the small house the couple were renting. "You're a pig," she stated.

"Pigs need to feel loved too,"

"Fine, but it's gonna be one-thousand GP," Aeris called as she went into the bathroom.

"Somebody thinks quite highly of her skills,"

"Never heard you complain!" Aeris called out.

"I've created a monster…" Sephiroth grumbled as he turned on the TV.

* * *

"Who knew there were still kind and generous people in this universe?" Ifalna mused that night as the Gasts and the Crescent-Valentines sat in their respective living rooms, talking through a video screen.

"So do you want to come?" Aeris asked, "If everything went right, we're under Shinra's protection once we come back,"

"Yes…" Ifalna stated hesitatingly.

"And we certainly don't want to miss the birth of our first-!" Gast piped up.

Ifalna groaned loudly.

"We'd like to not wait until your baby is a toddler to see it for the first time," Gast finished.

"Plus, two years is when children start socializing. Once his aunt is born-"

"It's a girl??" Aeris exclaimed, "Mama, I thought you wanted to be surprised too!"

"I cracked yesterday and made the doctor tell me," Ifalna confessed.

"I get a baby sister!" Aeris cheered, "Mama, you have to come! Even if you decide you want to turn right around when we arrive. Please?? I wanna get to know my sister!"

Ifalna looked troubled.

"I _am_ worried…" she admitted, "…but the idea of not being able to contact you for two-to-three years…no. Forget it. Count me in,"

"I'll go call Ingrid!" Aeris said excitedly as she got up and left the room.

Sephiroth glanced at his mother-in-law, who looked visibly nervous.

"Mom. When I was just a kid, I protected you all. I'm more than certain I can do the same as an adult,"

Ifalna nodded, suddenly feeling a stab of shame, recalling how all those years ago, she had first objected to letting young Sephiroth stay in their house. She knew in her gut that her husband would have fought to the death to protect her and Aeris, and that he would have likely been killed had Sephiroth not been there that day.

"I trust you," Ifalna said finally, "And I'll trust the guild, the space explorers…let's do this,"

Gast put an arm around Ifalna's shoulder and kissed her cheek.

"Just keep me the hell away from Nibelheim and I'll be fine," Ifalna laughed sadly.

"That's the spunky woman I married," Gast said proudly, "I guess we should start getting ready. Do you think I should try writing a book about our travels? It might help foreign relations between The Planet and other planets…my, my, the possibilities are endless…"

Sephiroth smiled. He knew his father-in-law would likely never shut up. He never did once he had an idea in his head.

Mom would be fine. Sephiroth even wondered if a psychiatrist could be brought on the ship. So many things to think about…yet so many things to look forward to. Sephiroth was really warming up to the idea of fatherhood, which thrilled Aeris to no degree. Sephiroth had no doubt that Aeris would make a wonderful mother. Sweet-natured, patient with children, caring…not like the crass, irritable mothers who yanked their children around on leashes at the shopping centers.

All Sephiroth had wanted when he was a little kid in the Shinra building, was a chance to be normal. Not that he hated his gifts, but was there something so wrong with him wanting to settle down and live a peaceful life with his wife and future child?

_Hojo must be spinning in his grave…his big "Super SOLDIER" is a family man and a day laborer. And married the daughter of his rival, no less. Man's been dead for twelve years and yet, I still feel so much pleasure "sticking it" to him time and time again…yes…I have to say…life is pretty good right now…

* * *

_

A/N: Next…BLASTOFF!!!!!


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

Sephiroth watched as a few younger mages and technicians laughed and sprang off the walls in the see-through anti-gravity chamber up ahead.

_I wonder if my child will learn to "fly" before he or she learns to walk?_

Aeris had wanted to go into the chamber as well, but had been turned away on the grounds that the lack of gravity might cause her water to break prematurely. She and the baby were welcome to enter in a few months.

It had been one month since the completed shuttle had taken off. There had been very little news coverage, which Ingrid had insisted was for the better. Aeris' episodes had stopped, but had been put on bedrest, much to her annoyance.

Not that things were anymore exciting for Sephiroth. He had been put on call as an extra handyman, but so far, everything was going smoothly, leaving him to either practice his swordplay, or spend time with Aeris. He wouldn't have minded the latter if it weren't for the fact that Aeris was bored, and Aeris bored was like Aeris being seven again.

* * *

"It's not fair!" Aeris sulked as she sat in her bed, "Why do I have to stay in bed and not you?"

"The doctors and mages are only concerned seeing that no human has ever bred with a Seraph before," Ifalna explained as she sat nearby.

"The ultrasound didn't show any tails, wings, horns, or anything else that could endanger me," Aeris argued, "My uterus won't be shredded anytime soon,"

"Are you that desperate to move around? I swear, I should have gotten you tested for ADHD when you were younger,"

"I knew I should have bought more DVDs in preparation for this trip."

"Don't worry. As it turns out, there's a small solar system coming up in about six months with a habitable planet. You can teach the baby to listen to the planets, go fishing, hiking, swimming,"

"Six months, huh?" Aeris sighed, "I guess I could always read or-,"

Aeris felt her stomach fluttering again.

"Knock it off," she muttered irritably.

Her stomach fluttered again.

"Hey!" Aeris exclaimed.

She felt nothing for a few seconds, and then another kick.

"Okay, you're getting liver tonight…wait…_I_ hate liver…UGH!!! You're grounded then! Yeah! Never too early to lay down the law…"

"At least yours isn't doing that at five in the morning. This little monster…" Ifalna poked her belly, "…loves to wake me up that way,"

"Maybe you should have _her_ evaluated instead," Aeris joked.

Ifalna laughed. "I probably will,"

"Ah, it's finally stopped," Aeris said as she rested her hands on her belly.

"So what were you thinking for names?" Ifalna asked.

"If it's a boy, probably Keter," said Aeris, "If it's a girl, well, Sephy's fond of the name Remielle. What about you?"

"Your father picked your name," Ifalna said with a smirk, "Now it's my turn to choose. Unfortunately…I'm drawing a blank,"

The door opened, and Sephiroth appeared, carrying a large book.

"Since we're slowing down for the night," he said, "We can actually see the stars as we look out the window. There's constellations that have been named out here. Maybe we can spot one,"

"So we're playing galactic 'I Spy'?" Ifalna quipped.

"Exactly," Sephiroth said as he pulled up a chair and sat down next to the large window.

"What's in the bag?" Aeris wanted to know.

Sephiroth set down the book and pulled out a bag that made both Aeris and Ifalna's eyes open wide.

"Those are potato puffs," Aeris stated wistfully.

"Are those for us?" Ifalna asked hopefully.

"No, I heard they make good rocket fuel," Sephiroth replied sarcastically, "Of course they're for you. I figured my two favorite ladies would like a snack, since this is the closest you'll have to a movie theater for a while,"

"Dashing and considerate," Ifalna said as she playfully ruffled Sephiroth's hair, "What can I say? The women in this family know how to pick their husbands. So I don't think I'll have to worry about this one," she indicated her stomach.

"What did I tell you about my hair, Mom?" Sephiroth grumbled as he smoothed out his hair.

"Hey, where'd Papa go?" Aeris asked.

Sephiroth smirked. "I last saw him flying uncontrollably in the anti-gravity chambers. The workers on break in there started pushing him from side to side,"

Ifalna grimaced. "I married a child,"

"I wanna go in there too!" Aeris whined.

"My husband, the man-child, and my firstborn daughter…following in her father's footsteps," Ifalna sighed.

"Sorry, Mom, but I think the inner-child gene is dominant," Sephiroth said dryly.

"That means there's no escaping for you either," Ifalna said, "How many children do you plan to have?"

Aeris and Sephiroth looked at each other and shrugged.

"More than one?" Aeris said hopefully.

"I'd definitely like one of each," Sephiroth added.

"I can see our daughter being 'daddy's girl'," Aeris giggled, "Seph may be tough, but we know he's a softy toward the people he loves. Don't worry, Sephy- your secret's safe with us,"

"Of course it is," Ifalna snickered, "Don't deny that you love being seen around with this 'bad boy',"

Sephiroth's ego couldn't help itself as he smiled proudly.

"I'm not," Aeris said as she grabbed Sephiroth's hand, "I've never complained. I've overheard what some of the female mages and workers have said about him. One said he was the perfect image of masculinity,"

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow.

"And you never got jealous?" Ifalna asked.

"No, though they did wonder why he was married to some 'ditzy teenager', implying that ours was a shotgun wedding. Once I'm back on my feet again, I swear…"

"If you're going to have a catfight, I'd at least like to be present this time," Sephiroth said with a smirk on his face.

"Seph- that was not one of my proudest moments," Aeris complained, "Anyway- weren't we supposed to be stargazing?"

"Ah, yes," Sephiroth recalled as he opened his astronomy book, "According to the navigator I spoke with, we're around here…" he pointed at a spot on the map of the galaxy, "Which means we can actually see five constellations: Toma- the Hunter. But not a hunter of game. He was a hunter of truth. Quite the philosopher, but also a brilliant writer. And according to this, he helped with military strategies, which helped Beud A'evori stay somewhat independent from the Cetran empire,"

"Toma?" Aeris repeated, "Hmm…a son…named Keter Toma Crescent-Valentine,"

"I like it," Ifalna nodded approvingly, "Has a good ring to it,"

"I don't see it anywhere though," Aeris said as she glanced back and forth from the window to the book.

"It might be on the other side of the ship," said Sephiroth, "Let's look for another one,"

"Oh, Mama! I found one!" Aeris exclaimed as she pointed at the book and then out the window, "Rakael- the Spitfire. Says she was quite the renaissance woman. Explorer, soldier, even married and had a few kids, yet could do it all,"

"That's it!" Ifalna exclaimed as she clapped her hands together excitedly.

Aeris and Sephiroth stared curiously at her.

Ifalna spoke to her stomach, "All right, little girl. That's your name. Considering how much energy you have, that name suits you well,"

"Hey, Rakael," Aeris said as she put her hand on her mother's stomach, "Just so you know, I'm your big sister Aeris. And standing nearby is your big brother-in-law Sephiroth. But you can just call him 'Seph' until you can talk well enough,"

Just then, the door opened, and a haggard-looking Professor Gast stumbled in, his hair disheveled and looking dizzy.

"Young people are hard to keep up with these days," he wheezed.

"Sit down," Ifalna told him, "We're stargazing. Oh, and our new daughter's name is Rakael,"

"Intergalactic mythology is fascinating," Sephiroth said as he flipped through a few pages of the book.

"So is astronomy," the professor said as he pulled up a chair and sat down.

"Honey- did you hear me? I figured out a name for our daughter…the one who's still inside me, in case you forgot,"

"Sorry," Gast apologized, "That room messes with your head for a bit. Rock-what?"

"Rakael," Sephiroth said as he turned the page that talked about the constellation.

"Hmm…" Gast read the page, "I like it! Well done, Ifalna!"

"Thank you, Professor," Ifalna said sarcastically, "Glad you approve,"

* * *

Two months passed by without incident. Aeris had spent most of her free time reading books from the library, as did Sephiroth. He had tried the anti-gravity chamber, only to realize he had to stuff his hair under a knit cap to keep it from getting in his face.

There were a few repairs needed here or there, but aside from that and the small library, there was soon very little for anyone to do, including the crew.

"I saw this movie where a bunch of people went to find another habitable planet since their old one got polluted and the children were getting sick," Sephiroth recalled, "It was 25 light years away, so the entire crew and passengers were put in a 25-year-long coma,"

"Aw, come on, Seph," Aeris reassured him, "The baby will be coming soon, and we'll have our hands full again, good or bad,"

Sephiroth glanced at the sandwich Aeris was desperately trying to hold onto, despite the contents falling out everywhere.

"Dare I even ask what's in that thing?" Sephiroth asked.

"Peanut butter and apple jelly, with nice wavy potato chips thrown in for texture,"

"That's disgusting," Sephiroth said flatly.

"I behta diffuh," Aeris mumbled.

"Come again?"

Aeris swallowed. "I said, 'I beg to differ',"

"You're making a mess,"

"_You're_ making a mess!"

"That makes no sense," Sephiroth stated, before he stopped short. "What was that?" he asked.

"What was what?"

"I heard something,"

Aeris tilted her head. "I don't hear anything. What did you hear?"

"Something odd,"

"Like…?"

"I can't describe it,"

"Are you messing with my head?"

"No,"

"I don't hear anything,"

Sephiroth's eyes widened as it dawned on him: "It's reaching out to me!"

"What is?"

"The baby," Sephiroth said as he got on his knees and pressed his ear to Aeris' stomach, "It's like…telepathic babbling, for lack of a better description,"

"Really??" Aeris looked excited, "Aww, see? It kicks me, and talks to you-!"

Suddenly, Sephiroth jumped back, looking startled.

"What on earth was that?!" he asked.

"It finally kicked for you!" Aeris exclaimed.

"It yells when it kicks," Sephiroth said as he warily eyed Aeris' stomach, "Or rather, it screeches,"

Aeris laughed.

"I don't see what's so funny," Sephiroth muttered.

"It's cute!" Aeris argued, "It's finally saying 'Hi, Daddy!'-,"

She then stopped short, eyes widening as she clutched her stomach.

"Aeris?" Sephiroth looked alarmed.

"That…hurt…!" Aeris managed to say.

Her husband was instantly alarmed "Was that a contraction?!"

Sephiroth then winced as he clutched his head.

"Now isn't the time for sympathy pains!" Aeris admonished her husband.

"That was not a sympathy pain!" Sephiroth growled, "The baby wasn't 'reaching out'- it was announcing its arrival! And it's damn loud!"

Aeris grimaced. Suddenly her eyes shot open wide again.

"Oh…that's…really gross!" she said as her face turned pale.

Sephiroth then looked down and noticed a small puddle pooling around Aeris' feet.

"Aeris- don't you dare pass out on me!" Sephiroth said warningly as he took Aeris' face in his hands, "It's not going to get you out of anything!"

"Then could you _please_ get someone here?!" Aeris begged weakly, "A mage, my father- anyone that can _help_ me?!"

"I'm not going to leave you all alone!" Sephiroth argued, "Besides- isn't it only an issue once the contractions are a certain amount of time apart?"

"Not when the water breaks!" Aeris snapped, "Seph- please call _somebody!_ The phone's right on the wall! I'm not going anywhere! So can you please _not_ lose your head and just do what you need to do?! Get it together, already! Because I'm ready to stand up and leave a nice little trail as I waddle off to the clinic!"

"All right!" Sephiroth growled as he picked up the phone and dialed the switchboard.

"It's upside-down…" Aeris moaned as she rested her forehead in her hand.

"Operator?" Sephiroth said after turning the receiver around, "Yes- this is room 204. My wife is in labor! No, I'm not the old guy who injured his back in the anti-gravity chamber- I'm his son-in-law! …I don't need your goddamned condolences, you smart-ass! Just send whoever's qualified to deal with this, over to the room!" he hung up.

Aeris screamed and doubled over.

Sephiroth went over to her and grabbed her hand.

"Sephy, I'm scared!" Aeris whimpered, "I thought contractions were supposed to start out really far apart!"

"It's going to be fine," Sephiroth reassured her, "I'm sorry if I freaked out for a minute. I'm sure you've noticed by now I get a little…angsty whenever you're in pain,"  
"And I know it's because you care, but can you just…stop?" Aeris winced, "I don't want to be your weakness, and right now…I really need you to be my rock! Please??"

Sephiroth sighed. "You're right. I'll try not to be such a pansy from here on out. I'll be here with you every step of the way. And it's not just me. Your parents are here too. Everything's going to be fine,"

"Says the man who's not having contractions," Aeris grunted.

"Don't worry- I can hear people coming to the room," Sephiroth observed as he listened, "It's going to be okay,"

Just then, he grabbed the sides of his head.

"Would you be quiet already?!" he snarled at Aeris' stomach, "We get it- you're coming out! Now shut up before I take away your TV privileges!"

The door burst open and a doctor entered, followed by two mages carrying several sets of sheets.

"Don't tell our baby to 'shut up'!" Aeris scolded Sephiroth.

"If you knew how loud that thing was, you'd do that as well," Sephiroth argued.

"Here," the doctor handed Sephiroth a pair of small headphones, "Sorry- I wasn't sure if you were a Seraph mix, or a Lunarian,"

Sephiroth absently scratched his shoulder, now devoid of the wing so he could make his way through the tight quarters on the ship.

"What do these do?" he asked.

"Ah, yes- a feral Seraph," the doctor nodded, "Babies with Seraphim DNA tend to release what is called the 'birth scream'. It can be very annoying to the parents. Just put them on, and all telepathy will be blocked,"

"How I wish I'd had these a couple of years ago," Sephiroth muttered as he put the headphones on. Then his face became angry. "What the hell do you mean 'feral'?! I wasn't raised by wolves-!"

"We don't exactly have a specific room for this," the doctor said as he eyed the room, "So we'll be doing all the work here. Peter, if you could place those sheets on the bed; you too, Danae,"

The two mages laid out the layers of sheets over the bed. The doctor then placed a stretcher on the floor.

"Aeris, honey, I'm going to need you to lie down on that," the doctor told her.

Aeris nodded and slowly got out of the chair, lying down on her back.

"Now, we each take a corner and _gently_ put her on the bed,"

Sephiroth tried to control himself and not fling his wife on the bed in his excitement.

"Excellent," the doctor said.

Just then, there was a frantic pounding on the door.

"The door's open," Sephiroth absently called out.

Professor Gast burst into the room.

"I heard…!" he panted, "They called to let me know…!"

"Where's Mama?" Aeris demanded to know.

"Taking a nap," Gast wheezed.

"Papa, she's due any minute now, like me! Go be with her!"

"But…"

"Are ALL you men the same way?!" Aeris shrieked as she threw a coffee mug on the floor, shattering it, much to the shock of everyone in the room.

"Dear Planet, just like your mother…" Gast grumbled as he left and shut the door.

"Phew!" Aeris sighed, "I thought I'd have to get even more 'psychotic' in order to get him to leave,"

"As glad as I am to know that was just an act, I thought you wanted him there," said Sephiroth.

"It's a girl's right to want her daddy around when she's in trouble," Aeris defended herself, "But don't mistake me for those hystetical women in labor. I'm lucid enough to come to my senses,"

"So…you won't attack the mages?"

"Don't underestimate us," the mage called Danae quipped, "We've got some mighty powerful 'stop' spells,"

"Oh no…" Aeris groaned before crying out in pain again.

"Sephiroth, just sit here," the doctor instructed him, "If both of you do what I say, this should be a breeze,"

"If there were a way to transfer the pain to you, there's no way you'd ever refer to childbirth as a 'breeze' again," Aeris panted.

* * *

"Oh, hey, you," Ifalna yawned as she sat up.

Professor Gast had entered the room and was pacing furiously.

"What's wrong?" Ifalna asked.

"Aeris is in labor and no one will let me in, so I don't know _what_ is happening!" Gast blurted out.

"Wait- Aeris is having the baby?"

"Yes,"

"And you tried to get in?"

"Yes?"

"And you didn't bother to wake me?"

"You were sleeping so peacefully!"

"And just left me here all by myself?"

"Well…"

"I'm due any minute now too, Faremis!"

"I know, but…!"

"Did you expect me to waddle down to find a doctor while 'holding it in' the whole time?"

"Of course not!"

"Besides- I wanted you to help with the birth of our second daughter…WITHOUT cameras,"

"But when she asks where she came from…"

Ifalna snatched her pillow and held it to her face, groaning loudly.

"Going too far?" Gast asked innocently.

Ifalna and the pillow nodded.

"Should I take a nap?"

"Would you even be able to?" Ifalna asked as she put the pillow back down.

"…No,"

"At least you're honest,"

* * *

A tuft of black hair covered the front of the newborn baby boy's head. He had opened his eyes just once, allowing Aeris and Sephiroth to see that as far as eyes went, their son had inherited a bit of both from each parent. While his pupils were cat-like the way his father's were, his irises were a bright green, having inherited the Cetra shine that all Cetra had in their eyes.

"It's over," Sephiroth said as he held the tiny infant in his arms, "I've never heard of that happening so quickly. Three hours in labor, and here you are,"

"I wonder if Mama's still ranting about that," Aeris said amusedly.

"Well, she was in labor with you for a whole day. She's just disappointed. When you were two and decided that streaking through the neighborhood was better than taking a bath, she said, and I quote: 'One day, I hope you have kids that ALL put you through the same torture you're putting me through'. So far, she hasn't gotten her payoff,"

"Yeah, I'm making a new rule," Aeris said pointedly, "It's called 'Daddy doesn't tell stories about Mommy like that in front of the kids',"

"He doesn't even understand speech yet,"

"You know what I mean. Oh, is he done with the birth scream? Your headphones are off,"

"Yes. I wonder if he'll learn to speak aloud, or telepathically first," Sephiroth said.

"Seph! You haven't read the books?!"

"……"

"He'll likely start using basic telepathy with you, and later, the words will come. It's like those babies who learn sign language before they talk. Think of it as a way for you two to bond,"

"That almost doesn't seem fair to you," Sephiroth remarked, "How are you supposed to bond with him then?"

Aeris cupped her hands underneath her breasts, which had understandably grown larger.

"I hate dairy…" Sephiroth muttered.

"Hey- nourishing the kid first, playthings for the husband second!"

Sephiroth rolled his eyes, knowing this would be the first of many things he would have to compromise from here on out. He then spoke to the baby:

"And finally, just so you know: your name is Keter Toma Crescent-Valentine. You look like your grandfather. Not the one who was crying, but the one who will probably stare at you for thirty minutes, and then take a nap to process everything,"

Aeris burst out laughing. "That sounds like your father, all right,"

"And that's why we're in space. So you can meet him. Oh, we'll probably stop at a few deserted but life-sustaining planets first. It'd be nice for you to learn to walk on solid earth like your mother did,"

"I learned to walk outside?" Aeris asked curiously.

"In the backyard," Sephiroth recalled, "Then your father spent the day looking for tough shoes in case there was any broken glass and sharp rocks,"

"Papa was always so over-protective," Aeris sighed, "I'm sure he had a tough time on the day of our wedding,"

"Well, your mother _is_ as far along as you are…I think he managed it okay,"

"Oh god- Seph!" Aeris cringed and pulled the covers over her head.

"I only-,"

"LALALALA, I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!!" Aeris sang loudly.

"Sorry, I guess I might have gotten carried away," Sephiroth admitted as he leaned over and kissed the covers on top of Aeris' head.

"Meanie!" Aeris sulked as she pulled the covers back down, "Yes, Keter- your daddy knows how to push people's buttons, including my own. I hope you're not a sensitive kid,"

Sephiroth frowned. "I wouldn't tease a sensitive child, especially not my own,"

Aeris smiled. "Good,"

"But a sensitive child wouldn't come from my side of the family, just so you know,"

"Oh really, now?! I remember a certain kid who screamed when his baseball teammates poured ice water on him after he pitched a no-hitter an finished off a game with a grand slam!"

"You were three when that happened! How could you possibly remember that?!"

"Papa taped it and I would watch when you weren't around. Not only did you scream, you also ran home shirtless!"

"I was trying to get the ice out of my jersey," Sephiroth argued.

"I can just see the Corel Times headline," Aeris giggled, "Eleven-year-old baseball prodigy retires after giving town a strip-tease!"

Sephiroth sighed and looked down at Keter, who was now fussing.

"He doesn't like seeing his father emasculated," he conjured.

"He might be hungry. Hand him over,"

Sephiroth obeyed.

As Keter finally latched on, something occurred to Sephiroth.

"God, I hope they at least flipped the mattress…"

* * *

A/N: Sorry if you expected to see the whole labor scene, but I decided against making Aeris one of those sitcom mothers who goes insane while in labor. Besides, do you people really want me to write about afterbirth and crowning and hot water? It's fanfiction- not the Discovery Channel. :P


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

No smiles, no crawling, no playing...nothing but dirty diapers and feedings. Conversation certainly wasn't an option.

Sephiroth hated to admit it, but the fact was that his son was downright...boring sometimes. Two months into fatherhood, and the name of the game was: what do we do today to keep the kid from crying?

Aeris was finally cleared to enter the anti-gravity chamber, so it was Sephiroth's turn to appease the infant. As the weeks went by, Sephiroth got more and more used to little Keter's presence. There were still four more months until they reached land, but that couldn't be helped.

Suddenly, the ship jerked, causing Sephiroth to stumble slightly. Keter immediately began to cry. _Maybe I should have the pilot calm him down_...Sephiroth thought as he went to pick up his son.

"Why is it that bouncing you calms you down?" Sephiroth asked as he rocked the baby, "I would think it would get you all wound up. People don't make sense sometimes,"

Sephiroth then tensed as he heard a distant screech growing louder. Rakael. Every time that Keter's needs were stressing him out, he reminded himself that while Keter was a handful, he wasn't the banshee that was his aunt, who had been born one week after him. Soon, the screaming faded.

"More turbulence than usual," Sephiroth admitted, "No wonder you and Rakael are both in foul moods. At this rate, someone's going to get injured with all this shaking,"

As if on cue, the ship began to shake again. "Oh, for the love of-!" Sephiroth began to say.

Just then, the intercom crackled to life. "All hands on deck!" the pilot's voice seemed frantic, "Clear out all areas and prepare for lockdown!"

Sephiroth left the room, making a beeline for the cockpit. "What's going on?" he asked a crew member.

"Don't panic, Mr. Crescent-Valentine," the woman said quickly as she hurried away.

_This is like when I first met Medea_…Sephiroth thought impatiently, _Telling a person not to panic before they even know what's going on…how counter-productive can one get?_

"Seph?" Sephiroth turned around to see Aeris standing behind him, still dressed in the anti-gravity suit. "They made us all clear out of the anti-gravity room. What's going on?" she asked.

"I'm trying to figure that out myself," Sephiroth growled.

Another jolt sent Aeris and Sephiroth crashing into the wall. Sephiroth had managed to twist around, protecting Keter from the impact.

"We've got to put him back in the safe-pod!" said Aeris, "I'll watch him while you try to find out what's going on!"

"I'm coming with you," Sephiroth insisted, "I don't need you smacking your head against a wall and getting a concussion!"

"There you are!" Ifalna stumbled over to her daughter and son-in-law, still clutching the inconsolable Rakael.

"We need to put the babies in the safe-pods!" said Aeris, "Where's Papa?" "I don't know!" Ifalna admitted worriedly.

"First thing's first!" Sephiroth insisted, "Get the babies to safety!"

"Right," Ifalna agreed.

Another crew member was rushing by, but stopped. "Please, get the babies to the safety pods, and strap yourselves into any seats in that room!" he pleaded.

"But what's going on?!" Aeris asked as he ran away.

The ship jolted again, but they managed to brace themselves and protect the babies once more. "Now!" he ordered as the three began stumbling toward the room down the hall. The sound of several crew members screaming bloody murder made everyone freeze. However, they barely had any time to react before a bright light blinded everybody. That was the last that Sephiroth could remember.

* * *

The sound of Rakael and Keter's piercing cries woke Sephiroth up. He immediately sat up and surveyed the area around him. They were still in the ship for all he knew, though it was completely dark. The faint hum of the engine was silent. He allowed his eyes to adjust to the darkness, and spotted Keter, lying on top of Aeris. Quickly, he picked up the infant with one hand, and began nudging Aeris with the other. "Wake up, Aeris!" he said, "We're still alive!"

He then heard the maniacal laughter of the pilot coming from the next room. Suddenly, the door burst open, revealing sunlight. "Wormhole!" the pilot giggled hysterically, "We're not dead! I don't know where the hell we are, but wherever it is, we're alive, and the readings outside are good! AHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Unnngh…" Aeris groaned as she sat up.

"Are you all right?" Sephiroth asked her.

"We're still alive…?" Aeris asked, looking around. The pilot went over to the escape hatch and slowly worked the door open. "Mama?" Aeris called out, "Papa?"

"It might take a few minutes for everyone to come around," the pilot explained, "Aeris, can you help check on everyone else? We can use a mage right now,"

"I'll look after Keter," Sephiroth offered.

"Oh, Rockie!" Aeris exclaimed as she followed her baby sister's cries, "Hang on, big sister's coming! Mama? Papa?"

"AUGH!" Professor Gast grunted loudly.

"Oh, sorry, Papa!" Aeris apologized, "Are you alright?"

"Can't breathe!" Gast wheezed, "Solar plexus…!" Aeris then cried out as she fell.

"Aeris?" Sephiroth sounded alarmed.

"Rakael? Oh- here you are!" Ifalna exclaimed.

"Aeris- what in the world are those boots made of?!" Gast groaned.

"I just tripped over Mama," Aeris announced, "She's holding Rakael…Papa's awake; I accidentally stepped on him…where's all of the crew?"

As if on cue, the door to the second corridor opened, and two crew members and a white mage stumbled in.

"All right," the pilot said, having regained his composure, "First thing we need to do is-!"

"The first thing you need to do is tell your passengers where the hell we are, and what the hell happened in the first place!" Ifalna said angrily.

"Agreed," Sephiroth stated, "Why did we crash?"

"It was a black hole," the pilot said, "However, a wormhole managed to pull us through before we could even try to steer away. I apologize for that. Perhaps now you know why we prefer to use gates than wander through outer space,"

"Yep, we're just a bunch of suicidal thrill-seekers!" one crewman laughed.

"First thing we need to do is check up on everyone else here," said the pilot, "Round everyone up and bring them here. We'll tend to any injuries here, and we can brainstorm about exploring our surroundings. We'll have to see what the terrain has to offer us. We also need to consult the charts and find out exactly where we are. Then we set to building the gateway, and-,"

"Wait- what?" Aeris interrupted.

"I'm sorry, but this mission has officially failed," the pilot told her, "We're lucky we still have the means to return to civilization,"

"Can't you repair the ship's engine?" Aeris begged, "We've come so close!"

"Follow me, Aeris," the pilot instructed. Aeris walked with him into the cockpit, still carrying Keter.

"See that?" he pointed outside the window. The bow of the ship was completely crushed against the side of a mountain.

"No…" Aeris whimpered, "Why now?"

"I'm sorry," Sephiroth said as he came into the room, "Maybe…we should just accept it. We've put a lot on hold for this, and maybe it's not worth it-,"

"That's my home we're talking about!" Aeris snapped. Keter began to cry again. "Oh no…Keter, I'm sorry…" Aeris held the baby closer, fighting off tears herself.

"Here…" Sephiroth took their son and began stroking the boy's head gently.

"I understand your frustration," said the pilot, "But right now, we have a job to do. I need everyone's cooperation so that we can get to safety soon…"

* * *

The climate of the planet was a tropical one. All of the Cetra had described its spirit as jovial and welcoming, though primitive.

"One can tell what kind of life exists on a planet simply by conversing with it," one of the mages had explained to Sephiroth as they looked for water, "You really don't need all sorts of crazy expeditions to find out. Just bring a Cetra along and you save endless amounts of money!"

"What kind of life exists here, then?" Sephiroth had asked.

"Possibly intelligent, but likely primitive. We certainly shouldn't count on stumbling upon a sprawling metropolis,"

"A tribe of headhunters?" Sephiroth half-joked.

"Heh…" the mage laughed nervously, "That's what the materia we've been armed with is for, isn't it? There's a chance whoever lives here hasn't even the foggiest idea of what magic is,"

"I find that hard to believe,"

"Oh, it's happened before. Civilizations go through unnecessary 'dark ages' because of it. What's worse, they believe it exists, but attribute it to things that happen naturally. Like thunder. Some old man points at the sky, thunder happens. Total coincidence, but the people are gullible enough to believe it's true. Then they develop technology, which is just such a long time. They end up polluting the environment, people get sick with lung diseases. Then eventually, it all balances out. You really need to balance magic and technology to truly please the Planets…"

Sephiroth looked around, only paying partial attention to the man's lecture. Suddenly, a bear crawled out of the brush. Spotting the two men, it stood up on its hind legs and let out a mighty roar. Sephiroth said nothing, but held up his wrist, with a Water materia (exclusively from Deux Terre).

"Watega," he said simply.

The bear was suddenly drenched from a sudden downward blast of water. Sephiroth and the mage stepped back to avoid being splashed. Growling, the bear ran off, likely thinking it had been caught in some hidden waterfall.

"No mutations…" the mage noted, "But that's the first living thing, excluding surrounding flora, that we've seen,"

* * *

"Eat something," Ifalna pleaded.

"I'm not hungry, Mama," Aeris said dully, "I'm not going to collapse just because I don't want lunch,"

"You're still nursing," Ifalna argued, "You need to keep your strength up so Keter can too. Come on, there's plenty of fruit outside that has already been deemed safe to eat. I'm going to have some right now," She got up from the bench she and Aeris were sitting on, and opened the hatch.

Aeris continued to sit. Everything they had worked for…all the effort they'd put into this…and it was all destroyed by a wormhole. Were those things even supposed to exist?

_Would you rather have been stretched to spaghetti by a black hole?_ A voice in the back of Aeris' mind asked sarcastically. No, Aeris was grateful to be alive, but it was these near brushes with death that had kept screwing everything up. If she hadn't been infected, Reidmar wouldn't have risked everything to open the portal during Meteorfall, which had likely destroyed it, barring their way back home.

"Mmmm…this is sooooo tasty," Ifalna said, her mouth still full as she carried two purple, egg-shaped fruits into the escape hatch. She swallowed. "Aeris, you have to try this! Everyone with a pulse has to!"

"I'll do it later," Aeris said irritably.

"Feeling sorry for yourself isn't going to change a thing," Ifalna pointed out impatiently.

"I'm not feeling sorry for myself!" Aeris lied.

"We'll find another way," Ifalna promised. "When?" Aeris snapped, "When I'm a grandmother?"

"Considering our crazy family, that could be five years from now," Ifalna joked.

"Oh, ha ha ha ha!" Aeris fake-laughed.

Ifalna glared at her daughter. "You're acting like a child," she said.

"Maybe because in your eyes, I'm only ten, instead of twenty?" Aeris sulked.

"Well, if you're only ten, then go to your room!" Ifalna snapped.

Aeris stared at her mother for a moment. "My room looks like an accordion right now," Aeris quietly reminded her mother.

"You're even more stubborn now than you were when you were seven," Ifalna remarked.

"I learned it from my parents," Aeris pointed out.

"Ah, yes…" Ifalna recalled, "Now eat something. She shoved the fruit in her daughter's face.

"Fine," Aeris said grudgingly as she took one of the fruit.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: 

"That was a stupid, stupid thing to do," the black mage said acidly.

Sephiroth sat against a tree, looking around absently. His pupils were enormous.

"You don't just eat food on another planet, no matter how much it looks like something you've seen at home!" the man continued, "It could have been poison! And now I have to baby-sit you while you trip out!"

He and Sephiroth had come across a river. Hungry, Sephiroth had spotted a fish, and had attempted to catch it with his bare hands. He would have succeeded, if not for the tiny stinger underneath its belly. While it didn't seem poisonous, whatever had been inside that fish was now causing Sephiroth to hallucinate.

"Captain, this is Black Mage Dax Van Kleef," the mage spoke into the radio unit he held, "There's been an incident, over,"

"_What happened? Over,"_

"Sephiroth was stung by a poisonous fish. Doesn't appear to be in physical distress…but he seems to be in a trance. And what's more, he won't get up and follow me back to camp. We might need about three more strong hands to pick him up and carry him,"

"_Understood. We have your co-ordinates. I'll send backup immediately, over and out,"_

"Thank your lucky stars they can find us with these tracking devices," said Dax.

"You're wrong, my dear…" Sephiroth mumbled.

"Crap…" Dax whispered as he tilted his head. Something was splashing in the river. Another animal, perhaps?

"Hello?" an unfamiliar voice called out, "Is somebody there?"

"Shut up, Gregor!" another voice hissed.

Suddenly, Sephiroth leapt to his feet and drew his sword.

"No, don't do something stupid again!" Dax pleaded, his voice a frantic whisper.

"Fire…" Sephiroth droned as he waved his hand sloppily in Dax's face. Fortunately, Sephiroth didn't have any fire materia on him. He then ran off, following the sound.

"Oh god, it's a bandit!" shrieked a man, "Dammit- why did you call out?"

"For the love of Holy, don't do it, Sephiroth!" Dax yelled as he finally caught up with everyone.

Sephiroth was facing a canoe, in an uneasy fighting stance. In the canoe were two young men, cowering as he raised his sword.

Panicking, Dax blurted out the first thing he could think of:

"Sephy, honey, the baby's crying!" he called out in a high-pitched falsetto.

Sephiroth turned around, and tripped over his own two feet. Masamune flew out of his hands, narrowly missing Dax, and landing right next to him.

"I think I just pissed myself…" one of the men in the canoe whimpered.

"Sorry!" Dax called out as he raised his hands, "He's actually a decent guy. Family man and all. But he got stung by a fish, and he's been acting really wacky for the past fifteen minutes!"

The two men looked at each other.

"A fish, you say?" the golden-haired man asked, "About this long," he gestured with his hands, "and kind of pinkish-orange?"

"Afraid so," said Dax, "Hey, Seph…you okay?"

"I hate this bed…" Sephiroth muttered, lying face-down on the ground.

"And it hates you too," Dax replied, patronizingly.

He then tried to kick the long sword out of the way, only to stub his foot on the hilt.

"OW!" he yelped, "What the hell is that thing made of?"

"Are you from Coneria?" the black-haired man asked.

"No- look at the clothes they're both wearing!" the golden-haired man pointed out, "They're both Lufenians!"

"No…I'm actually a Hume, and my friend here is a demi-Seraph," said Dax, "My name is Dax, and this is Sephiroth. If you know how to cure him, that would be wonderful,"

"Well, my name is Gregor, and this is my cousin Terquas," the golden-haired man said.

"Idiot!" Terquas exclaimed, "They're complete strangers, and you're telling them our names?"

"Shut up, Mr. Paranoid," Gregor said dismissively, "I wish we could help you with your friend, but there's really no cure for Sunset Fish venom. You'll just have to wait it out. Should be all over in about three hours,"

"Freeze!"

The three men looked to see the pilot standing nearby, his pistol drawn. Standing behind him were three other crew members.

"You _had_ to draw attention to us, didn't you?" Terquas sneered as he put his hands in the air.

* * *

"The colors were actually singing to me," Sephiroth said as he lay down on a cot at the campsite.

"How poetic…" Aeris sighed in exasperation, "Are you feeling better?"

"Tired, but alright," Sephiroth reassured her.

It had been a few hours since Sephiroth and Dax had been escorted back to camp, along with the two "prisoners".

"Who the hell are you people?" Terquas demanded to know.

He and Gregor were both tied to a large tree.

"My arms are starting to hurt," Gregor complained.

"Honestly- was it really necessary to resort to kidnapping them?" Ifalna asked, annoyed.

"We don't need them to run off and cause a panic," said the pilot, "If they were to gather a mob, we'd be seriously out-numbered,"

"You don't think the Evil Fiends have come back?" Gregor asked his cousin.

"There were four Evil Fiends," Terquas said, "There's at least a dozen of these people,"

"We're from another world," Ifalna explained, "We crash-landed here in that giant structure behind me. We were just trying to get home,"

"Papa?" Aeris called out, looking around.

"He's star-gazing," her mother told her, "The telescope in the observation room is still working,"

"Oh," said Aeris.

"Is there a problem with Sephiroth?" a white mage whispered to her, "We could always stick him in a medical pod if he gets rowdy,"

Aeris looked alarmed. "That's really not necessary," she said, "I just wanted to make sure my father's not getting into trouble,"

_He might go on a rampage if he were forced into a pod…all those memories…_Aeris thought nervously.

"He'll be fine in a couple of hours, I told you already!" Gregor snapped.

The hatch opened, and Professor Gast stepped outside, looking disturbed.

"Faremis?" Ifalna noticed his look.

"The constellations here," said Gast, "look very similar to the ones I used to gaze at back home…what's more…see that large-looking star in the sky?"

Ifalna strained her eyes to look up at the stars. Sure enough, a slightly larger-looking star had caught her eye.

"Just as the large star in our own sky," said Gast, "It's as I thought. That was never a star…it's a planet…and if my suspicions are correct, we're standing on that planet right now,"

"Twin planets?" Aeris looked shocked.

She ran over to Gregor and Terquas. "Please tell me you have rocket ships!" she begged.

"Rock it?" Terquas looked at Gregor, "Well, yes, most ships do rock when on the water…or is this an airship you're speaking of?"

"Dammit!" Aeris yelled as she pounded the ground.

Everyone stared at Aeris.

"You mean that star is our home planet?" Aeris exploded, "We're close enough to see it, but we still can't make that little jump? Can't you build a mini-rocket out of spare parts?"

The ship's engineer stared at her as if she had stated that the world was flat.

"The escape pod!" Aeris recalled, "That wasn't damaged! We can use that!"

"The escape pod isn't built like that," the engineer explained, "It doesn't have enough power to escape a planet's atmosphere.

Aeris grabbed the pillow from underneath Sephiroth's head. She held it up to her face, and began to scream.

"Okay, time for bed," Sephiroth said as he quickly got up. Before Aeris could embarrass herself any further, he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Aeris shrieked as her husband carried her toward the hatch, "What are you- an ape-man? I can walk just fine, thank you!"

She began hitting Sephiroth's back with her fists and kicking wildly in the air.

"I'd call this domestic violence if it didn't tickle,"

"Hey, guess what, Keter? You're going to be an only child now…!"

* * *

"Construction of the Gateway begins today," said the engineer to the Gasts the next morning. "Despite her unacceptable behavior last night, I do feel for Aeris," said Ifalna.

"Yet, you feel relieved," said the professor.

Ifalna looked uncomfortable.

"Where'd the prisoners go?" asked one of the crew members.

"Oh, the captain put 'em in the brig. Even he felt sorry for them being tied up,"

"What's going to happen to them?" Ifalna asked the pilot.

"As soon as the gateway is finished, we'll alert security of the possibility of a riot coming from here," he responded, "I know you don't agree with this, but it's part of the 'Undiscovered Territory Act'. Most sentient beings have the urge to conquer. It's years and years of civilization that have taught us that. This law is in place to keep people from being invaded,"

* * *

"These taste…interesting," said Terquas.

Aeris and Sephiroth had been chatting with the two prisoners outside of the brig for a few minutes. Aeris had offered some of her "Fruit Jerky" to the both of them.

"I like the texture of this," said Gregor, "And you say they don't spoil?"

"Not for about ten years," said Sephiroth.

"Wow…" said Gregor, "I wish this world was as advanced as yours,"

"Mine isn't all that advanced," said Aeris, "The world I came from, that is. We don't have the same energy sources as the civilization we've been traveling with,"

"What about you?" asked Sephiroth, "Where's your source of power?"

"Why, steam, of course!" said Terquas, "What else is there?"

"Electric, atomic, solar, lunar, static, mako…" Sephiroth rattled off.

"Mako is very, very bad, though," Aeris butted in, "Don't try it! That's what landed the two of us into this mess in the first place!"

"Spiritual energy?" Terquas looked shocked, "No offense, you two…but are your people suicidal? Maybe one of those death cults? You can't just harvest that stuff like trees!"

Aeris smirked. "Death cults…I like that one. I'll have to remember that,"

"But you said you have airships," said Sephiroth, "You power them with _steam?_"

"No, those are powered with a forgotten magic, used by Levistones," said Gregor, "I've been trying to study them myself, as my father, and his father, and his father before me, and so on,"

"The Unne family has quite the history with those stones," Terquas added, "Myself, I'm related to Gregor on his mother's side, so I don't quite share the same intense fascination with them like he does,"

A thoughtful look came over Aeris' face. Then, she suddenly smiled.

"What?" Sephiroth asked.

"I think…" Aeris said slowly, "We should stay here for a bit,"

Sephiroth frowned, "Why?"

"I want to see these Levistones for myself," said Aeris, "All the stuff I've learned from the Guild, plus the numerous universities of Magitechnology? How much does it cost to buy one of these things? I'll find a way to pay you back. I'll…I'll…do _something_…provided it's honorable," she glared quickly at the two cousins.

"Impossible," Gregor said cheerfully.

"What-? Why?" Aeris exclaimed.

"You've gotta be twenty-one, and a member of the right organizations, or families, to gain access to one of those. You don't just go to the 'Levistone Shop',"

"You're not twenty-one yet," Sephiroth concluded.

"I'm only eighteen," Gregor confirmed.

"Some adventurers try to find them on their own," said Terquas, "But there's little to do once they get their hands on it, except sell it to the Aircraft Organization,"

Sephiroth could almost see the lightbulb above Aeris' head.

"What about Keter?" he asked.

"Well…maybe we could ask Mama and Papa to look after him? I can start weaning him, and-"

"Aeris, I know you're desperate, but you want the two of us to go wandering around on an unfamiliar planet looking for magic rocks that may or may not help us get back home?"

"Mr. Unne…" Aeris ignored her husband, "Would you be interested in funding a project to get us to the other planet?"

"Don't do it…" Terquas warned Gregor.

"Just call me Gregor," said the young man, "And to be honest, this sounds like overkill to me, going into caves. I may not have access to raw Levistones, but I do have plenty of Airships to spare…we're the Unne family, after all,"

"So we'll just take out the Levistone from one of them?" Aeris asked.

"Forsooth," Gregor nodded.

"You'd be destroying your own airship that way!" complained Terquas, "Dammit, Gregor- why does each generation of the Unnes have to be even more insane than the one before?"

"You need a sedative, cuz" Gregor said bluntly.

"As long as we don't have to do anything crazy, I can agree to this," said Sephiroth, "So why don't we have a word with our captain?"

"We'll be back!" Aeris said excitedly as she hurried off.

"What she said," Sephiroth deadpanned as he slowly followed his wife down the corridor.

* * *

"No," Ifalna said flatly.

Aeris frowned. "What do you mean, 'No'?"

"I mean, I've flown in space for months, given birth on a spaceship, all to go to a planet I'd sooner never see again," said Ifalna, "I only went along to make sure we could at least visit once in a while…but I'm _tired_. If I'm going to wait for a short way back to Gaia, I'd rather wait on Beud A'Evori.

"You may think everything is all peaches and honey now that Rufus Shinra promised to close down the reactors, and has no interest in studying the Cetra, or the Seraphim, but I don't care to see this new world. I've had to look over my shoulder every step of my life! Even when you were little, look what happened! This is _not _going to happen again! I'll be damned if Rakael has to go through what you went through!

"My therapist warned me against this, and I think she was right! At least when there was possibility of a gateway to take us back and forth, I could handle it. But now you want us to strand ourselves there? What if nothing's changed? What if Rufus Shinra stabs us all in the back?"

The various crew members that had been milling around slowly dispersed, either inside the ship, or near the stern.

"Don't do this, please!" Ifalna pleaded, "We had that quiet life! We were all together! WHY? Why do you want to throw it all away?"

"Because I'm bound to 'Holy'," Aeris said quietly, "I have to stay there. Every night, save for my pregnancy terrors, there's always been a dream of the Planet. I thought it was homesickness, but now…being so close…I can just feel Holy's presence…even though it's dormant now. I guess…it's my price for using the White Materia. It was the same feeling I felt when I rode Weapon…like something made sense. I think that's also why I lost my head last night the way I did,"

She looked at her feet, still embarrassed over her incident.

"That materia I gave you was supposed to be for your protection," Ifalna said as she wiped a tear from her eye, "It wasn't supposed to turn you into the Planet's slave,"

"*AHEM*,"

Aeris, Ifalna, Sephiroth, and Gast all turned around to see Ingrid standing nearby.

"Yes?" Gast asked wearily, "Is your head-wound healing?"

"I feel much better, thank you. I truly apologize if I've been eaves-dropping, but there may still be a way to finish this mission without any heartache…" the white mage said slowly.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Two Years Later…

"That…is hideous," Sephiroth said flatly.

"Don't let your mother-in-law see that," Gregor laughed nervously.

"That's one nasty head-wound," Ingrid remarked.

The latest test capsule had come back from a day-long trip, carrying a test-dummy. While the ship had come back relatively fine, the window had melted, and dummy-pilot's head was badly singed.

"It's like it just doesn't make it past the higher levels of the atmosphere without taking damage," said the structural engineer who had signed on to help with the project.

"Back to the drawing board, I suppose," said Sephiroth, "Let's cover the craft up and go back to town. We can always get a new windshield first thing tomorrow,"

* * *

For two years, Sephiroth, Aeris, and everyone else involved had been camping out in the Ryukahn Desert every day, a few hundred miles from the crash site. Ifalna had decided that this planet was peaceful enough to stay on for the time being, much to Aeris' joy.

Ingrid had contacted her cousin, who had ordered the pilot of the ship to free Gregor and Terquas. While Terquas had fled home, Gregor traveled with the group to the desert, saying it would be the perfect place to try launching the craft.

Ingrid had suggested the party try to blend in. Gregor managed to recruit his younger sister Shelae to outfit everyone.

"I have an eye for size and color," Shelae had said, displaying the same carefree enthusiasm her brother had towards life.

She had grabbed a long pink dress with silver trimmings for Aeris. For Ingrid, she had grabbed a yellow tunic. Both women were also given native white mage robes.

"This is nuts…" said Aeris, "Same exact pattern…"

"Cetra influence?" Ingrid had suggested.

"It makes sense," Aeris had remarked, "My ancestors settled on my home planet…this one's pretty close. They might have settled here too,"

"Yeah, but this whole 'listen to the planet' thing…really hasn't caught on here," Shelae had pointed out.

Having acquired two Levistones from two unused airships in the Unne Skyport, they were brought to the Loar Empire in Ivalice for study at Aldanna University. During the six months that Gregor had spent there with the Levistones, Aeris, Sephiroth, Keter, the Gasts, Ingrid, and a few other people involved, had settled on the outskirts of Ryukahn Village; a small oasis town founded some two-hundred years ago.

The stones, and the notes on them were then passed over to a team of engineers in Beud A'Evori. Thankfully, gold and other precious metals seemed to be a universal currency. A good chunk of Gregor and Shelae's inheritance was spent paying the engineers, while Ingrid had footed the bill for the initial research at the university. This, along with the modifications of the escape pod, had taken over a year. Now, the team was in charge of testing the rocket. Over the past five months, they had gone through two escape pods, courtesy of Ingrid's cousin. Once the craft was deemed a success, the parts for another gateway would be loaded into the craft, along with Aeris, Sephiroth, Gregor, Ingrid, and an engineer in his late-40s named Jedd.

During this time, Keter grew into a happy-go-lucky toddler who charmed most people he came into contact with. His large appetite, however, was almost always the source of any temper tantrums.

Rakael's powerful lungs didn't diminish as she got older, with her nephew often having to put up with her screaming at the drop of a hat. Eventually, Keter would try "feeding" her his blanket when he could sense a scream coming on. While Ifalna had been somewhat amused at that spectacle, Aeris had just about died laughing.

"He's got the right idea," Sephiroth had remarked. Then he had turned to Keter, "But you can't go around gagging everyone you don't want to listen to…unless you work for government censors,"

Keter had developed a set of slits on either side of his lower neck. The doctor on Deux Terre, where they occasionally visited, had told them they were gills, and that they shouldn't worry. In fact, he had said, he was in practically no danger of ever drowning.

However, when Aeris had carried him into the ocean once, a wave had splashed over the two of them. Keter became sick shortly after.

"Freshwater gills…" Sephiroth had muttered, "We live near the coast, and he can't even go into the sea without being poisoned…"

Rakael took to the sea immediately, always sitting and splashing happily under her mother's watchful eye.

"They sure are different," Aeris observed once.

Keter toddled up to Rakael and threw his arms around her.

"Friend!" he declared happily.

Rakael patted him on the head.

"Of all the days I left my camera at home…!" Ifalna had groused.

"I could cry!" Aeris had gushed.

"You're no help…" Ifalna had complained, smiling resignedly.

* * *

"Okay, so who's this?" Aeris asked as she held up a picture of Sephiroth.

She and Keter were sitting in the kitchen while Ifalna sat nearby. Gast had taken Rakael out for a walk.

"Daddy!" Keter exclaimed.

"And who's this?" she held up a picture of Rakael.

"Wockie!"

"Great…now who's this?" she took a photo of her parents and pointed to Ifalna.

"Don't…even…say it…" said Ifalna warningly.

Keter pointed at the picture and then at Ifalna.

"Well done," his grandmother said appreciatively.

Aeris sighed, and turned her head as she heard the front door slam.

"Oh, I guess Daddy's home," Aeris remarked.

"Daddy!" Keter began to squirm in his hi-chair.

"Hello," Sephiroth greeted everyone as he came into the kitchen and sat down.

Aeris saw the look in her husband's eyes. "Rough day?"

"Barbecued test-dummy again," he said with a nod, "This time, it was just the head, but I'd still rather we all get out of that spacecraft in one piece. We have three options: get on a waiting list for a sheet of thermo-resistant plastic, which could take up to three years-,"

"Next!" Aeris interrupted.

"Next!" Keter echoed.

Sephiroth smiled briefly. "Or we could do away with windows, and rely on radar. The radar system we have, however, is average at best. If a meteorite happens to cross our paths, we're finished,"

Ifalna's fingers tightened around her glass of water.

"Or, we try and search for crystals, and then take them to a crystalline glass-maker," Sephiroth finished.

"I like option three," said Ifalna.

"Me too," said Aeris.

"Me too!" said Keter.

"You certainly have a lot to say today," Sephiroth said to his son.

Keter held up his arms, indicating that he wanted to be picked up.

"Fine, then," Sephiroth lifted the toddler out of his seat.

"Fly!" Keter insisted.

"No, 'flying' is for outside," Sephiroth reminded the boy.

Keter pointed at the front door.

"In a minute," said Sephiroth.

"Where does one find these crystals?" Ifalna asked.

"…In a mine," Sephiroth said evasively

"In a mine, where?"

"In a nice, quiet cave…on the Devil's Tail,"

"Now you're going across the ocean?" Ifalna looked skeptical.

"Just for a week or so," said Sephiroth, "Gregor doesn't think it should take any longer than that. We'll settle in Cavern City, and the place, called Terra Cavern, is only about twenty miles"

"Ah, and I get to watch Keter while you're gone, then," Ifalna concluded.

Sephiroth placed the child in Ifalna's lap. As if on cue, Keter gave her a hug.

"You manipulative little…cutie-pie…" Ifalna muttered.

* * *

Aeris sat on the roof of the concrete house the family was living in. She could see the Planet, shining in the clear night sky as always. The dull aching in her heart never ceased since landing in this world. Stargazing always made it a little better.

"There you are,"

Aeris jumped, startled, and saw Sephiroth holding onto the edge of the roof.

"You need to stop doing that," Aeris complained, "That ninja silence might have been great when you were in Avalanche, but all it does now is give people heart-attacks!"

"Sorry," Sephiroth apologized as he pulled himself up and walked over, sitting down next to her, "I suppose you wouldn't be up to getting a closer look at that?"

He pointed to the bright object in the sky that was the Planet.

"What- like flying?" Aeris went pale at the thought. The last time she had flown on his back had been terrifying.

"Just a suggestion," Sephiroth said as he lay on his back, looking at the sky. Aeris lay back, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I always wondered why Mama didn't feel the same ties to the Planet," said Aeris, "But it makes sense…she didn't summon Holy…and she didn't summon the Lifestream…I chained myself to the Planet, Seph…I guess I have to keep my vow to make grass grow in Midgar,"

"It wasn't like that when we lived elsewhere,"

"No. But just as I sense the Planet, it senses me. And now, it won't let me go,"

"I see,"

"You want to see your father, don't you?"

"I do. I'd like to find out if Rufus kept his word. If he hasn't, Vincent might be in serious trouble…or worse,"

"That's another reason I have to go back. I need to make sure it'll be okay,"

"Would you be willing to take up your staff…or even Muramasa?"

"Yes. I understand how Mama feels, but…I haven't given up yet. I can't,"

"We'd be risking our lives,"

"If there's anything to risk," Aeris pointed out.

"Yes, but…" Sephiroth hesitated.

"What?"

"We need to discuss some realities here. Is this fair to Keter? Your parents are right to want to keep your sister safe. We need to do the same for our son,"

"I know they're right," said Aeris, "I feel ashamed, to be honest. I kept pushing and begging Mama to come back with us, when she really just wants to start over elsewhere. And yeah…Rockie deserves a normal, silly childhood,"

"Fair enough, but still, what about Keter? If anyone tried to do to him what was done to me at his age…I'd incinerate them. Let's be honest…we had the goal of coming home. Had we not made that mistake with the birth control…would we even be considering parenthood right now? Not in the 'it would be nice to have children sometime' sense, but actively considering it, given the circumstances?"

Aeris sat up, hugging her knees and looking down at her feet.

"You're not making this any easier," she said quietly.

"Do I have to share you with a society that may or may not try to take you and our son away from me? Or a world that may try to take _me_ away from you, in short- tear up our family?"

"That's not fair, Sephiroth…I had to do what I had to do. Someone had to step up. Someone had to call Holy, to tame WEAPON, to summon the Lifestream… Believe it or not, I'm not just some tragic altruist waiting to go down in a blaze of glory. I did all that so _I _could have a future! I can't just run away while I've got fight left!"

"I don't want this to wear you down, Aeris. Look at Mom. She's happy now…but she's worn-out. She's got the same gray streaks in her hair that my own father had when I last saw him, and biologically speaking, she's eight years younger than he is. You've already been through a lot. Don't kill yourself over this…you nearly did already,"

Aeris smiled sadly. "But I'm alive and well. Have a little faith in me,"

"Your stubbornness will be your unmaking,"

"I may look like I'm all smiles and flowers…but I'm still a fighter. I'm scrawny, but I'm quick. And…I knew I might lose my life the day I left for the old city. I wasn't afraid,"

"Do you have any idea what kind of grief that might have caused?" Sephiroth asked quietly.

"You're missing the bigger picture!" Aeris protested.

"You _are_ the bigger picture to me!" Sephiroth argued, "Without you…I don't know what I might have become,"

"What do you want me to do then?" Aeris exploded, "Just turn my back on my home? My instincts? Pretend it never existed? Why do you have to be so callous sometimes?"

"Why do you have to be so self-sacrificing?"

"I don't know!" Aeris shouted as she stood up, looking away, "It's the curse of being a Cetra, I suppose! You always thought your DNA was a curse, because you felt you didn't belong…I'm no different! I can't have my own life…no matter how much I want it! My instincts never let me! High school was so lonely that I didn't think twice about dropping out during senior year to help you! All because of those stupid voices! By the time I learned to tune them out at the appropriate times, everyone thought I was insane!"

"Then let's make a deal," Sephiroth suggested, calming himself down, "If we return, and the Planet is still in distress…why not get the guild to help? You may be bound to the Planet, but there's nothing saying you have to do everything alone. The Cetra in the guild love nature just as much as you do. You have the connections…use them. You're not the last of your kind anymore. Let people help. Had I not helped you, Jenova's tentacles may have pierced your heart rather than your shoulder,"

Aeris sniffed, scrubbing at her eyes.

"I learned that I don't have to take care of things on my own," Sephiroth continued, "It's time for you to learn that as well. I know you too well. Forcing a smile as you let yourself be thrown around by 'forces' or 'destiny'…we make our own destiny,"

He held up his left hand, displaying the tattoo on his wrist. "I thought this was the prime example of that,"

He then gently took Aeris' right hand, which bore her own tattoo.

"So what do you want?" he asked gently.

Aeris clasped Sephiroth's hand with both of hers. "To see our home planet come alive…but I want you there…and Keter…I want to never have to look over my shoulder like I did before. But I have to make sure the Planet is a safe world to live in.

"I know there will still be crimes and all…but no more corporate kidnapping…no more humanoid experimenting…no more environmental disasters…it's possible. I know in my gut that it is!"

"I know it is too," said Sephiroth as he drew his wife into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head, "But I don't want to have to literally share you with the world…not like that. Nor would Keter want to share his mother like that. I truly believe we can work around this. And if the Planet throws a tantrum…you and I, with the help of the guild, will send it to its room,"

Aeris laughed in spite of herself.

"I don't know what I'd do without you," she whispered.

"I don't intend to let you find out. Now let's go inside. Tomorrow's another busy day…"

* * *

"So…who's going to be a good boy while we're away?" Sephiroth asked Keter the next day, as they stood outside the Gasts' house.

"Me!" Keter raised his arms.

"Up at five in the morning, and he's all ready to go…" Gast observed sleepily, "God help us if we ever tried to wake Rakael up at this hour,"

"Pancake!" Keter asked, tugging on Ifalna's skirt.

"Coffee for me first," Ifalna yawned.

"Yucky!" Keter made a face.

"Now, how would you even know?" Ifalna asked.

"He's gotten good at climbing," said Aeris, "And just like his daddy, heat doesn't faze him. Last week, he practically slithered up to the table, took one sip of hot coffee, and then threw it down on the floor, spilling it everywhere, saying it was 'yucky', never mind that it was steaming. My back was turned for just a few seconds. Now we have a lovely burn on the kitchen floor,"

"You still haven't grown eyes on the back of your head yet," Ifalna teased, "You will eventually,"

"Well, time for us to head out," said Aeris as she picked up Keter and kissed his forehead. "You behave, little man!"

"Aeris, that's the third time you've kissed him goodbye in the last five minutes," Sephiroth pointed out as she set him down again.

"Oh, hush!" Aeris said as she went over to her parents for a group hug.

"Don't do anything stupid out there," said Gast.

"What he said," said Ifalna, "And that goes for both of you!"

"Of course," said Sephiroth as he reached one arm around Ifalna's shoulder, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Let's go, Aeris,"

They were about twenty feet away from the house when they heard Keter's voice pipe up once again:

"Pancake!"

* * *

"Aeris," Ingrid said as the two women stood on the deck of the ship they were traveling on, "This whole 'bound to the Planet' thing…I gotta say…that's some pretty weird stuff. You hear about that stuff in myths, but the explanation is usually something else…usually a ruse, but sometimes, mental problems and-,"

"That's nice," Aeris butted in with a cheery sarcasm, "My husband thinks I'm a martyr, you think I'm crazy,"

"The spirits of planets tend to be very…non-committal," said Ingrid, "And a spell like Holy…people have used that spell at times in the past…it's just a White Mage's way of fighting. In fact, some of the most high-ranking senior members learn to use that spell…without a white materia. I hate to ask…but is there a possibility that your mother's materia is flawed?"

"In what way?" Aeris asked.

"I'm not sure," Ingrid admitted, "Materia is a pretty old-fashioned way for those who have lost their links to the spirit world to cast spells. It's how people in the Galactic Capital cast them since there's no link there either. This 'human' race is shut out from the spirit world…I find that odd. Even the weakest of humes can cast spells without materia. You cast it using materia, and you're somehow linked to the world now?

"This is part of why I don't want to give up on seeing your world. I've been cursed with an insatiable curiosity,"

"I _have_ observed the many races I've seen since I came out of that coma," said Aeris, "And you're right. I wonder if I'll be able to cast spells without the aid of materia when I get back…even though I can hear the Planet, and even the Lifestream speak to me,"

"You couldn't cast anything without materia?" asked Ingrid.

"Only if I was badly injured, or in some kind of trance," said Aeris, "I could heal myself, or prevent enemies from casting spells, for example,"

"I wonder what'll happen to me when I get there?" said Ingrid.

"Learning to cast Holy without materia…" Aeris mused, "That would be very interesting,"

"Keep up your training while you're there," said Ingrid, "You've got a lot of talent. It'd be a shame to see that go to waste,"

Aeris nodded, looking thoughtful.

"Hey," Ingrid said, holding up a deck of cards, "Want me to teach you how to play 'Omega Shuffler'?"

"Okay. Sounds fun!"

* * *

A/N: In my original timeline of Final Fantasy events, FF7 takes place about two hundred years after the events of FF1, and several thousand after 12. Confusing, huh? It's fun for me! :D

But in short, this means new towns and settlements have popped up in FF1 universe, such as Ryukahn Village and Cavern City, which are not canon, but of my own creation.

Next: Aeris and co. make an unexpected discovery, answering some of their prior questions.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"Good thing your parents changed their minds about going back to Beud A'Evori," said Ingrid as the party unloaded their gear from the buggies parked near the entrance to the cavern, "Else you'd be hard-pressed to find someone to watch Keter,"

"My parents can't seem to make up their minds about much, these days," Aeris said, shaking her head, "But I think my mother feels a bit better about this world. It's sad how paranoid she's become. At first, she was fine with coming back, but seeing how people behave in these other worlds…it's made her angry at her life before. Whatever was done to her in Nibelheim…I've never tried to approach the subject with her. I don't think I ever will,"

"Some things are best not discussed, sad as that may be," Sephiroth chimed in as he grabbed a large backpack and slipped into it, "I don't care what all those self-help gurus say. Only some things should be faced. Others should be left behind, lest one were to go mad thinking about it all,"

Aeris only nodded sadly.

"Everyone ready?" Gregor asked loudly as he adjusted his blue overcoat.

"You said that monsters roam this area," Sephiroth said to Gregor, "How do you intend to protect yourself?"

"I have my ways," Gregor said slyly.

He then took a straw hat out of the buggy he had been riding in and put it on. Aeris' eyes widened as she saw Gregor's face completely shadowed, his golden eyes the only part of his face remaining visible.

"What's wrong?" Gregor asked casually.

Ingrid impulsively reached over and poked Gregor's face.

"Still there," she noted.

"Hey!" Gregor exclaimed angrily, "Are you trying to poke my eye out?"

"Is it the hat that does that to your face?" Sephiroth asked.

"You act as though you've never seen a black mage's hat," Gregor huffed as he took the hat off.

"Can I try that?" Ingrid held her hands out for the hat. Gregor reluctantly gave it to her.

Ingrid stared curiously at the hat before placing it on her own head.

"Your face is gone!" Aeris exclaimed, "Everything except your eyes! You look like one of the main characters in one of my favorite books!"

"Melodies of Life?" Sephiroth asked.

"Yep," Aeris nodded.

"What's it about?" Ingrid asked as she handed Gregor his hat back.

"Well, it's an adventure novel about this group of adventurers who have to save the world- no, actually, two worlds. There's a thief, a princess, and this little boy who looks just like you do right now with the hat on. It turns out that he's-,"

"This isn't a literary club, my dear," Sephiroth said impatiently.

"Why do you always say 'my dear' to me when you're being snarky?"

"Nobody's focused today," Gregor sulked as he grabbed a rod and walked off toward the cave.

* * *

"This place was the dwelling of the Lich," Gregor explained as the party travelled warily through the mazelike tunnel, "The Earth Crystal, like the other crystals, was being drained by various fiends, causing the waters to dry, the earth to rot, the wind to stop…well, you get the picture,"

"Imagine if our world had been powered by crystals instead of the Lifestream," Aeris said to Sephiroth.

"Then some idiot out there would have gotten the brilliant idea to drain them to power our TV sets," Sephiroth remarked sarcastically.

"You're grumpy," Aeris dismissed her husband.

"I've been thinking about something all morning," said Sephiroth, "There are worlds out there that function without the spirit energy that made up out home world. We were always taught that when we die, our souls are absorbed back into the Lifestream to be spun out again. What would happen if we were to die here? Another thing: Keter was born in space. There was no Lifestream in reach. Nothing to spin him out…or to reabsorb him when the time comes…"

_Meaning he has no soul…?_ Aeris stopped and looked frightened.

"Space still has spirit energy," said Ingrid, "Only it's scattered. Though yes, people do get very superstitious about the notion that the spirits of those who die in space are forced to wander endlessly until they find a planet with a lifestream,"

Just then, the ground began to tremble.

"Where did that come from?" Ingrid asked.

"This area's been known for the occasional tremor," said Gregor, "It's nothing to worry about. It _is_ called 'The Earth Cave' by many,"

"What about falling rocks?" asked Ingrid.

"As corny as it sounds," said Gregor, "The cave is protected by magic. It would never collapse,"

"Wait," Sephiroth said suddenly.

"What's the matter?" Aeris asked.

"I hear something," Sephiroth said quietly.

"AARRRRRGGHHHH!"

The group spun around to see a large purple ogre wearing a tattered green tunic crashing down the path behind them, wielding a large spiked club.

"Oh, shit!" Gregor panicked.

Aeris and Ingrid quickly cast protective spells on the group.

Sephiroth unsheathed Masamune and assumed a fighting stance.

"Lightning!" Gregor yelled, unleashing a mild spell on the ogre.

Sephiroth charged at the creature, and swung at it. Much to his surprise, however, the ogre caught his arm and flung him back into the wall, where he crashed, breaking it.

"Flare!" Gregor tried again. This time, the spell managed to weaken the ogre considerably.

"Ultima!" Aeris shouted, raising her wrist, which contained the materia-loaded bangle she had worn coming through the gateway.

That last spell did the trick. The ogre screamed loudly as it faded away, dropping its club on the ground.

Gregor rushed over to the club and picked it up.

"Very cool," he said, "We could sell this at Cavern City and split the money,"

"Seph, are you all right?" Aeris asked as she ran over to Sephiroth.

"He completely took me by surprise…!" Sephiroth said, still dazed.

"Can you stand?" Aeris asked.

Sephiroth slowly got to his feet.

"I underestimated that thing…" he muttered.

"Wow!" Aeris exclaimed, "Look at this!"

The hole in the wall had actually opened up another pathway behind Sephiroth.

"Incredible!" exclaimed Gregor, "This has been around for centuries, and yet only now there's another tunnel? Oh man…we'll be legends in our own right!"

He immediately stepped through.

"I hope this is isn't booby-trapped," said Aeris.

Ingrid lifted her lantern high so as to cast a better light down the path. As could be expected, the tunnel was full of cobwebs, and the ground was full of sand.

"Keep your eyes and ears open," Sephiroth said softly, "Perhaps there might be even more of what we're looking for in here if nobody's been around here for so long,"

"Can you seen an ending to this tunnel?" Aeris asked Ingrid.

"I see…a door!" Ingrid observed.

"Oh, I see it too," said Gregor, "Let's check it out,"

The group cautiously made their way down to the end of the tunnel. Ingrid tried to open the door, but it was locked.

"Maybe you can break it down," she suggested to Sephiroth.

"Maybe, but I think Aeris is right," Sephiroth pointed out, "There could be some sort of trap waiting on the other side,"

"What should we do?" Aeris asked.

"Wait a second!" exclaimed Gregor as he wiped the layers of dust off of the door, "There's writing on it!"

"Cetran script!" Aeris exclaimed, "And it's the ancient type!"

"Pork-hill room?" Ingrid scowled.

"Portal room!" Aeris gasped.

Sephiroth's eyes widened. Impulsively, he kicked the door down. No traps were sprung. In fact, nothing at all happened.

"It's just like I remember!" Aeris exclaimed as she rushed over to the non-functional portal.

"But the gateway in our world had stopped working," Sephiroth reminded her, "What good would it do?"

"Plenty," said Ingrid, "Portals are connected exclusively to a specific end. The gateway that connected to the galactic capital stopped working, but it's possible that whatever this one is connected to may be intact,"

"Oh wow!" Aeris exclaimed as she threw the switch, immediately activating the gateway.

"Hold on!" Sephiroth exclaimed, "Remember what happened when Mom and the professor stepped through a gateway that hadn't been working for a long time? Keter might be a senior citizen the next time we see him if we're not careful!"

Aeris froze, realizing he was right.

"There's got to be a way to check," she said.

"Oh! What if we tie, like, an animal to a rope, and push it through, and then pull it back?" Gregor suggested.

"No, it doesn't work that way…" Ingrid began to explain to him.

"We should keep looking for the crystals," said Sephiroth, "Never mind this thing. The crystals will make the spaceship completely safe. Adamantium body, crystalline windows, and we'll be safe,"

Aeris stared at the portal.

"Come on, Aeris," said Sephiroth as he gently led her away.

Aeris roughly shrugged him off and walked back to the portal.

"Aeris, look at me! We can't do this…!" he began to say before he grabbed her chin and made her look at him.

Aeris had a familiar faraway look in her eyes.

_Oh god, not this again…_he thought…_what now?_

Before he could try to restrain her, she took off and jumped right into the portal.

"No!" Sephiroth yelled.

Ingrid and Gregor stopped talking and stared in shock at what had just happened.

Sephiroth was torn. Part of him wanted to run after Aeris, but the other part knew that if he did, Keter might have to grow up without his own parents.

Just then, Aeris reappeared, soaking wet and coughing furiously.

"Aeris!" he rushed over to her and helped her to her feet.

"It's there!" Aeris coughed, "The Planet sang to me, it was so happy! But I needed to breathe, so I went back! But it leads back home! Under the ocean, but it leads back, Seph! No faulty space-time mechanism!"

"Did you make it to the surface?" he asked.

"No, I looked around, then I had to get air, so I swam back to the portal,"

"Then I should check," said Sephiroth, "We'll see how deep underwater it is, and then we'll decide what to do,"

He put down his sword, took off his cloak, and took a deep breath before entering the portal.

"Here," Ingrid took her robe off, "Take off your robes and I'll loan you mine, ok?"

"Thanks," said Aeris as she peeled off her soaking over-garment.

"What was with the leap of faith?" Ingrid asked.

"The Planet was calling," said Aeris, "I guess it can talk to me through the portals,"

"You could have drowned," said Ingrid.

"I'm too good of a swimmer," said Aeris, "And the Planet knows that,"

"I guess it would if you're the only one left to talk to," said Ingrid as she handed her robe to Aeris.

"Hey, look at this," Gregor had picked up a large tome off of the floor and blew the dust off.

"More ancient Cetran script," Ingrid observed as she took the book.

Just then, Sephiroth appeared, also soaked.

"Too deep for any normal person to hold their breath long enough to get to the surface," he said, "And it's salt water, which Keter can't handle,"

"Wow, what a tease!" Ingrid remarked angrily.

"Oxyale," Gregor said suddenly.

"I beg your pardon?" Sephiroth asked.

"I've told you about the faeries before," Gregor explained, "The Light Warriors sought the aid of a faerie because they can produce a special substance known as 'oxyale'. When the warriors sought the Water Crystal at the Sunken Shrine, they needed the means to breathe. Not much is known about oxyale except that it allowed them to breathe. That would definitely help Aeris and Keter stay safe,"

Sephiroth sighed. "Our work is never done, is it?"

"Oh, hush!" Aeris elbowed her husband, "We get to look for faeries!"

"My heart knows no greater joy," Sephiroth said flatly.

"So this means we're going to completely abandon the spacecraft we worked on building for two whole years?" Ingrid asked.

"Never in a million years!" Gregor protested, "I'm going to carry on the work once they're gone, and make certain this craft makes it to its destination. The age of the airship is about to end, and I'm the one who will make it happen! Why don't you stay too, Ingrid? Keep studying the magic here, you can come and go with the new gateway that leads to your capital thing, and help me out, right?"

Ingrid looked thoughtful for a moment. Then, she smiled at Gregor and nodded.

"All right!" Gregor exclaimed as he put one arm around Ingrid, and the other around Sephiroth.

"Let's get out of here," said Sephiroth as he gently peeled Gregor's arm off. "Keter's waiting,"

* * *

A/N: REEEEEEAAAAAALLLLLLLLLYYYYYY sorry for the wait, especially those who waited a year for this. Picking up Kingdom Hearts got me inspired to get back into the story, even if Aeris and Sephiroth have zero interaction in that game.

Next: The crossover continues!


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Aeris sat on the roof again as she read through the large book that had been in the portal room.

_Just as we've established the White Mages' Guild to teach the natives the importance of healing, they have now copied our efforts and formed a Black Mages' Guild. The natives' society may be primitive, but their intelligence proves that we can help them speed up progress._

Aeris smiled. It wasn't just plants and trees that the Cetra wanted to see flourish. It was society as well.

_The gateway that leads from the cavern here to the rocky valley on the twin planet works beautifully. Our engineers managed to take on two human apprentices. Several humans also have volunteered to colonize the twin planet. They're eager to see a land that until now, has had no intelligent live living on it._

Aeris looked surprised. Who knew that the humans on her home world were descended from the ones here?

* * *

"Keter," Sephiroth said as his son sat in his lap, "I can't help but wonder what kind of man you'll someday become,"

"Toy!" Keter showed his stuffed chocobo to his father.

"Yes, that's the fifth time you've showed me the chocobo," Sephiroth remarked.

"Fly!" Keter begged.

"Oh, you want me to make the chocobo fly," Sephiroth realized, "Okay,"

He flung the stuffed bird into the air, and caught it.

"No jump!" Keter protested, "Fly!"

"There's no fooling you, is there? Fine,"

He cast a "float" spell on the chocobo, which began to hover above them.

"Fly!" Keter exclaimed happily as he pointed at his toy.

"Yes," Sephiroth agreed.

"Fly!" Keter repeated.

"Yes, it's flying,"

"Toy fly!"

"Yep,"

"I fly?" Keter asked.

"Hmm…I'm not sure," Sephiroth said, "Is that really safe? You might feel sick,"

He reached underneath the bed, where the extra wastebasket bags were kept. He opened it up and handed it to Keter. "Now if you feel sick, you spit up in that bag, okay?"

"'Kay!"

"All right," Sephiroth cast the spell on his son. The boy began to float in the air.

"There you go. No, Keter, the bag isn't to put on your head…oh for Shiva's sake…"

Just then, Aeris burst into the room.

"Seph, you need to read this…" she then stopped and looked up, "What in the Planet's name is going on?!"

"Hi, mama!" Keter said, with the bag still on his head.

"He wanted me to make him fly like his stuffed chocobo," Sephiroth said defensively, "I thought he might get airsick, but he insisted, so I gave him an extra waste bag in case he did get sick,"

"He doesn't understand the concept of barf-bags yet!" Aeris said as she stood on the bed and grabbed Keter, struggling to hold onto him and still get the bag off of his head.

Sephiroth canceled the spell. "He can be hard to entertain sometimes,"

"You just do anything to avoid a tantrum," she accused her husband.

"He's loud,"

"Yeah- we're parents. We have to deal with that,"

"Fly!" Keter begged his mother.

"No fly," Aeris said firmly.

Keter began to whimper.

"Oh, if you start whining, then we're not having snack time," Aeris said with a shrug.

Keter instantly went silent.

Aeris smiled. "See? Now wait till I tell you the things I read in that book so far. It's amazing,"

"What did it say?"

"It all started here," said Aeris, "The humans were originally from here, and then migrated to our world _with _the Cetra,"

"Really? Then why is our world more advanced than this world? You'd think this place would have the head start,"

"Mama!" Keter interrupted.

"Yes?"

"Change me!"

"Now what happened to using the potty?"

"I potty!" Keter insisted.

"But you still need to be changed. Why's that, if you used the potty?"

"I show," Keter said as he pointed to the door leading to the hallway.

Aeris carried Keter to the bathroom, with Sephiroth following them.

"See?" Keter pointed to the giant wad of toilet paper stuffed inside the toilet.

"Oh no!" Aeris wailed, "Keter, you don't put _all_ of the toilet paper in there!"

"I'll get the rubber gloves," Sephiroth droned as he left the bathroom.

"Let's get you changed, and I think we'll bring you over to see Rockie once we fix the toilet. How about that?"

Keter began clapping his hands excitedly.

"Glad you approve," Aeris quipped.

* * *

"The Cetra DID live here at some point," said Aeris as she sat in her mother's kitchen, "But rather than them having died out, it looks more like they up and left,"

"Is it possible," Gast wondered aloud, "That when the Crisis occurred, the Cetra here left to help the Cetra from our world and died there?"

"If that's true, then that's actually rather sad," said Ifalna, "Not just one, but _two_ Cetra societies died out due to the virus. It makes one thankful all over again for the advancement of medical science and magic,"

"Yeah…" Aeris glanced at her shoulder.

"So have you decided when you plan to leave for that village?" Gast asked his daughter.

"Did you know the village is called 'Gaia'?" Aeris laughed, "It's spelled differently, but still, it's the same name as our own world,"

"Which is supposedly the same name of every world out there in their own language," Ifalna rolled her eyes, remembering the rude people who had told her that nearly five years ago.

"We're going to leave in three days," said Sephiroth, "It should give us enough time to plan what to pack, and make sure we have everything,"

"And you really think it's safe to take Keter?" Ifalna asked.

"It's just a spring on the edge of that town," said Aeris, "It's practically a tourist attraction. It'd be a shame not to let Keter see. Don't you think so?"

"Well…" said Ifalna, "That sounds more like a vacation than a dangerous mission. Why don't we come too, Faremis?"

"Why not, indeed?" the professor agreed.

"Yay, Keter!" Aeris cheered, "You and Rockie get to see the faeries!"

"What's faeries?" Keter asked.

"They're little people with wings that fly,"

"Fly!" Keter exclaimed, "Yay!"

Sephiroth stared. "We want our son to get excited about faeries?"

"Just because you're too cool to get outwardly excited about anything doesn't mean our child can't either,"

"Aeris, haven't you paid any attention in Beud A'Evori? I've never seen a full-grown Seraph get emotional about anything unless they're distressed. We just don't work that way,"

"Wait- so you think it's genetic or something? I always thought it was cultural,"

"Then how do you explain me? I wasn't born there,"

"Coincidence?"

"No, I think it's hard-wired,"

"I have to agree there," Gast interjected.

"Well, Keter's only a quarter," said Aeris.

"Why don't you want him to take after his own father?" Sephiroth was offended.

"Because he's already so sweet!" Aeris pouted, "I don't want that to change!"

"Hmmm…" Sephiroth knelt down and took a good look at Keter, "Sweet? Or is he just trying to get what he wants from his mother?"

"Always a good question to ask," said Ifalna.

"Daddy!" Keter threw his arms around Sephiroth.

"What do _you_ want...?" Sephiroth asked with mock-sternness.

"Om-nom-nom!" Keter exclaimed.

"Lunch is later," said Aeris, "After bath-time, which is now. Say bye-bye to everyone!"

"No bath!" Keter's happy expression was gone.

"Yes, bath!" Aeris said, "I'll even cast an itty-bitty tornado spell so the water runs away from you. Don't you want to try and catch it?"

"No!" Keter cried, "Lunch? Lunch now?"

"Lunch _after_ bath!" Aeris said firmly.

Keter began to cry loudly.

"Keter…!" Sephiroth's tone had a warning.

Aeris took him away. Keter threw his head back and screamed, as if the world were ending. Sephiroth shrugged at his in-laws and then left.

Gast and Ifalna burst out laughing at their grandson's melodramatic reaction.

"Keter stay!" Rakael whined.

"No, Keter's going bye-bye," said Ifalna.

"No bye-bye!" Rakael insisted.

"Yes, 'bye-bye'," Gast said.

Rakael began screaming and running in place before finally throwing herself onto the floor and rolling around angrily.

"You deal with it," Ifalna and Gast both said to each other.

* * *

Aeris looked around the town, watching the random twinkling of fireflies in the town of Gaia.

Night had already fallen by the time the group had entered the town. Gregor informed them that faeries only appeared in the realm during the daytime, and that they might as well check into the inn and rest up for the next day.

Aeris couldn't help but wander around town, anxious for the next day to happen. The ecstasy she had felt upon hearing the Planet's voice for the first time in five years, despite having to hold her breath, was second only to…

Sephiroth briefly flashed into her mind.

_Naughty thoughts…_Aeris thought with a giggle.

The Planet was like a drug to her now. No wonder her mother was so concerned, though that was only half of the reason why. Ingrid had told her once that on certain planets, guardians were appointed by the spirits of the planets themselves. Was that what had happened, or was the white materia indeed flawed, as Ingrid had also theorized? If it was, could Aeris find a way to undo the flaw? Perhaps the answer lay in the black materia, which Sephiroth had taken from the body of Resara Delrayo upon arriving at the Galactic Capital.

If the black materia came from the old temple, could it be restored to its old form?

There were many things she would have to find out once she returned home besides whether or not the ruling powers were now benevolent.

* * *

"Aeris!"

Aeris jumped awake, realizing she had fallen asleep on the bench outside of the inn. She looked up and saw Sephiroth standing over her.

"You're just becoming more and more unpredictable," he sighed, "Keter wants you to feed him this morning, and he won't eat until you come in,"

"I couldn't sleep…" Aeris grumbled as she stretched her arms and legs.

"Mama!" Keter exclaimed as he ran out of the lobby to her.

Ifalna came out and handed her a jar and a spoon. "All yours," she said.

"All right," Aeris said as she picked her son up and sat him right next to her, "Are you ready to have breakfast so we can go see the faeries?"

"Uh-huh!" Keter said.

"All right, then," Aeris opened the jar and began to feed the toddler.

"How does one catch a faerie?" Sephiroth asked Gregor, who had also stepped out of the inn.

"Why do we need to catch one?" asked Aeris, "That seems kind of mean,"

"They ignore regular folks," said Gregor, "Only kings, queens, and other leaders get any attention from the faeries,"

"We could dress Sephiroth up in fancy clothes," Aeris suggested, "and say he's the king of Weneedtogohomerightnow…aria,"

"Or we could catch the faeries," Sephiroth said flatly.

"Fine," said Aeris sadly as she fed Keter his last spoonful.

"I'll take that jar and wash it out," Gregor offered, "Poke some holes in the lid and we can use it to contain the faerie. I've got my own map, so meet you at the spring, okay?"

* * *

"Keter, please stop crying," Sephiroth said to his son as they stepped outside the mazelike forest leading to the spring, "We didn't know there would be imps there,"

"And I never figured that screaming children would scare them off," said Ingrid.

Rakael had also been frightened, but had calmed down the minute the small monsters had run off. Still, she clung to Ifalna like an octopus, burying her face in her mother's shoulder.

"Look, there's the faerie pond!" Ifalna pointed, "Let's go see it!"

"No, I scared!" Rakael's muffled voice shouted.

"He's going to scare the faeries off," Sephiroth said to Aeris as he pointed to Keter.

"Keter, you want some fruit-jerky?" Aeris asked as she pulled out a package of the chewy snack.

Keter instantly quieted down, but still kept pouting.

"Here you go," Aeris ripped open the package.

"Me too!" Rakael whined.

"Of course," Aeris ripped the jerky in half and gave a piece to each toddler.

"Let's go," Ingrid whispered.

The group quietly crept up to the pond, and proceeded to hide behind some bushes near the water.

After waiting a few seconds, something materialized about ten feet away.

"Strange…" it spoke loudly, "something smells familiar, but I just can't put my finger on it. Have the elves come to visit? No, this does not smell like an elf,"

"Shhh…" Aeris put her finger to her mouth as she looked at her son and baby sister.

"Maybe it's over here…" the voice said.

Aeris looked up and saw a tiny half-naked winged man floating about half a foot from her. She screamed in surprise.

"HONEY!" the faerie shrieked as he flew around, "It's really happening! There's a true-blue Cetra here! No- two- three- no, FIVE of them! The Cetra people are back! It's a miracle!"

A female faerie faded into view. "What's all the ruckus?! You're making an ass of yourself!"

"Cetra!" the first faerie exclaimed, "Smell them!"

The female faerie cautiously flew over to Ingrid and began to sniff. "Well I'll be…she does smell like a Cetra…" she looked into Ingrid's eyes, "Shiny eyes…wow. Do you know how long it's been since a Cetra has been sighted? A good few thousand years. You came back from that little emergency you had to tend to on the other world high in the sky?"

"Well…sort of," said Aeris.

"Oh! You're the other Cetra!" the female faerie remarked.

"This one smells weird!" the male faerie exclaimed as he pointed to Sephiroth.

"Well, you _look_ weird," Sephiroth shot back.

"Hey!" Aeris exclaimed, "Insulting them isn't going to help us get the oxyale!"

"We'd be glad to give you oxyale," said the female faerie, "But may we ask you what you'd be using it for?"

"To get back to my home world," said Aeris, "You know, the 'planet high in the sky'?"

"No!" the faeries shrieked at the same time.

"What's wrong?" Aeris asked.

"You came back only to ask us to help you leave again?" the male faerie asked, "No! We won't stand for it! Neither will our brethren! You can't just leave!"

"_She _wants to leave," said Ingrid, "I don't. I'm happy to stay, and bring more of us Cetra to live here with you. I know plenty of them who'd love to meet you. Is that a fair deal? My friend Aeris is the only one who wants to leave. My name is Ingrid, and I want to stay, all right?"

Ifalna approached the faeries. "I'd like to stay too. This is a nice, quiet world, and I'd like to get to know you more myself. My name is Ifalna, and I'm Aeris' mother. This is my daughter Rakael,"

Rakael tried to grab at the faries, but Ifalna caught her hand.

"Be nice...!" Ifalna warned her younger daughter.

The faerie couple heaved a sigh of relief together.

"For how many people do you need the oxyale?" asked the female faerie.

"My family," said Aeris, "So that's three, but also, we need enough for the engineers we'll be bringing with us. So in total, we need six,"

"That's two more people than the last group of travelers that wanted oxyale," said the female to the male.

"Yeah, but this is for the reemergence of the Cetra," the male pointed out, "And may I remind you that if you'd been more careful, you wouldn't have gotten captured by that awful man and have to be rescued by the Light Warriors!"

"Wait!" Gast exclaimed, "You're _that_ faerie?!"

"You mean people still know about that?" the female asked, looking absolutely embarrassed.

"You'll never live that down, will you, honey?" the male teased.

"I'll go talk to the chief…" the female muttered as she faded away.

Just then, Gregor came out of the forest carrying a net and the jar.

"And what do you have in your hands?!" the male faerie shrieked at him.

"Uh…" Gregor looked nervous.

"Lightning!" the faerie yelled.

"AAAARRRRRGGGH!"

* * *

A/N: I'm on a roll! The story's probably only got a chapter or two left, and after that, we'll move on to the real meat & potatoes of the "Ripples" series.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

"Do you have everything you need?" the professor asked as Aeris, Sephiroth, Keter, and the three engineers stood near the entrance to Terra Cavern.

"We have all of our clothes and belongings," said Sephiroth, "And the oxyale will keep us safe. The boat should fit all of us, and Gregor will come back with the oxyale and let you know that we've made it safely to the surface,"

The oxyale given to the group by the faeries had been guaranteed to keep up to eight people completely oxygenated. To solve the problem of getting to the surface, a large rowboat was purchased. Sephiroth was confident he could drag it to the surface, lift it up, and empty it of any water. Once the group was safely aboard, Gregor, a talented swimmer in his own right, would swim back down to the gateway and report the group's success. Then, Sephiroth would fly, in a reverse-parasailing setup, and tow the boat east, hoping to get to Junon. From there, the engineers might be able to find a change of clothes, and take the next ship out to Bone Village, where they could purchase a Lunar Harp, and make their way through the Sleeping Forest, over to the old city where the first portal had been located.

Aeris, Sephiroth, and Keter, would travel to Midgar by foot if they had to, unless they could somehow hitch a ride. Hopefully they would be able to call Vincent, and he could pick them up.

Despite the practically foolproof plan, there were heavy hearts as the party prepared to say goodbye to not only the Gasts, but to Ingrid, Shelae, and eventually Gregor.

"It's been a real trip," said Ingrid, "And it's not over. We'll get this spaceship going, so don't write us off just yet!"

"When you get there," Sephiroth told her, "Look up a man named Cid Highwind. He'd be glad to work with you all on creating a transit system between the two worlds,"

He gave her a piece of paper with the pilot's name written on it.

"Come here, Aeris," Ifalna took her eldest daughter aside. "You have both the black and white materia on you, yes?"

Aeris nodded. "We're going to restore the temple with the black materia if we can,"

"Good," said Ifalna, "I see no reason why the black materia need ever be used. And as for the white materia, it might not be the only reason you're bound to the Planet,"

Aeris stared at her mother. "What do you mean?"

"Your true gifts are yet to manifest," said Ifalna, "Our ancestors told me, long, long ago that the mixing of human and Cetra blood was not a new thing. My grandfather also told me when I was a little girl, that human blood was a wildcard of sorts. Hybrids were very powerful healers. In fact, Cetra purposely bred with humans in order to restore the Cetra to their former glory. Unfortunately, it led to what little Cetra blood we had left in the world becoming very diluted. This only sped up the disappearance of our people. But I digress. What I'm saying, Aeris, is that your true powers have yet to manifest themselves, and the Planet knows it. You'll find out what they are, someday.

"But promise me," said Ifalna, "If you find your comrades and discover that Shinra's son has gone back on his word, or anything else that could put you and your family in danger, I need you to get to the ancient city, to the new gateway, and _get out!_ Please, I don't want you to go through what I went through. I don't want the people who accompany you to be persecuted either. And I don't want to see you separated from your family, so please, promise me that!"

"I promise," Aeris said quietly, "But while I'm gone, you take care of yourself, all right? For your sake, for Papa's sake, and for Rockie's sake. I'm all grown up now, so you need to trust me, and be a good mother to that adorably annoying kid sister of mine,"

Ifalna laughed sadly.

Aeris hardened her expression. "I promise I won't cry if you don't,"

"I don't make promises I can't keep," Ifalna said in a wavering voice as she hugged her daughter.

They were soon joined in a group hug with Sephiroth, Gast, Keter, and Rakael.

"I guess we'll be going now!" Aeris said, forcing a smile as the group broke up.

"Let's do this!" Gregor cheered, trying to inject a bit of enthusiasm into the group as they disappeared into the cavern.

* * *

"Climb in," Sephiroth called out as he and Keter floated over the soaked, but still buoyant boat that he'd managed to flip over.

"All aboard!" one of the engineers joked as he climbed in.

"No- get on the other side!" Aeris said to the other two engineers, "If we all climb in from this side, the boat will flip,"

"Everyone all set?" Sephiroth asked when everyone was seated, "Perfect,"

He and Keter floated down to the boat and sat down. When he handed the boy over to Aeris, he looked over the side at Gregor.

"We're all set," he said to the youth, "How about you?"

Gregor nodded. "I'll miss you all, but like Ingrid said, I'll come back here. It's just a pity I can't check this place out now. But it'll serve as more incentive for me to work hard!"

"Good luck," Aeris smiled as she leaned toward him and extended her hand.

"Thanks," he said as he raised his hand and shook hers, "You too,"

He then hesitated, then swallowed hard before he lifted himself up out of the water briefly, and stole a kiss from Aeris. Before anyone could react, he disappeared under the water, the glow from the oxyale getting fainter as he swam downward and downward.

"That little punk…!" Sephiroth growled.

"Oh, forget it!" Aeris said dismissively as she wiped her face, "Go scout the sea! Shoo!"

Sephiroth shot up high into the air, eventually disappearing from sight. Then, about thirty seconds later, he quickly descended and pointed eastward.

"There's land over that way. I'll tow us over as fast as this boat allows us. It should take us less than an hour to reach land. Get ready…"

* * *

Nakajima sat in his fishing boat, his pole over his knee, not moving, with a glass of sake in his hand. Life was good.

He had already made his quota for the day, but it was such a beautiful afternoon out. Plus, he was in no mood to go back to the unpleasant vibe back in Wutai. Ever since the daughter of Lord Godo had run away, disgracing her father, and the family of her betrothed, everyone was in a tense mood.

And it would be a shame to not finish his sake and maybe even catch an extra fish for his own dinner that night.

The sound of excited cheers made him turn around. What he saw made his jaw drop.

A man with silver hair flew by, towing a boat carrying about half a dozen strangely dressed passengers. All of them looked ecstatic, as if they were on a carnival ride. The man had no expression on his face as he continued to pull the boat eastward. Within a few seconds, they had vanished from sight.

It was the last time that poor Nakajima would ever touch a drink again.

* * *

"The treasures we brought with us ought to yield more than enough money to buy a change of clothes somewhere," Aeris said to the three engineers.

"Once we do split up, you know what happens next, right?" Sephiroth prompted them.

"We pretend to be stupid tourists and ask for the best route to Bone Village," one of the engineers answered.

"Correct," said Sephiroth.

"Look!" Aeris exclaimed as she ran over to a road sign, "Let's see…oh wow! We're ten miles away from Rocket Town!"

"Maybe we'll find Cid over there," said Sephiroth.

"All right!" Aeris cheered, "Let's start walking!"

* * *

"I'm afraid you just missed the Captain," said an elderly woman, "He and his girlfriend had another spat, and this time, he took off on his own airship. He tends to stay away for a few days when that happens,"

"There goes our chance to get a ride…" Aeris sighed.

"Why not just buy a ticket from our airport?" the woman suggested, "You said you've been away for a few years. You can charter a flight to Midgar if that's where you said you were going,"

"Actually, they're going to Bone Village," Sephiroth gestured at the engineers.

"That might be pricier," the woman said thoughtfully, "But I wish you luck in your travels!"

"Well, let's pawn our treasures and see what comes of it," Aeris said to the group.

"I love your costumes," the old woman commented, "Are you a theater troupe?"

"Yes," Sephiroth said flatly.

"How charming!" the woman exclaimed as she walked off.

"We'd better pawn our stuff right now," Aeris giggled nervously.

* * *

The total amount of money the group was able to gain was enough for new outfits, and to send the engineers straight to Bone Village. However, it was not enough to get Aeris, Sephiroth and Keter to Midgar.

"Maybe we could stay here and wait until Cid gets back?" Aeris suggested as the group stood outside the airport.

"Did you say you wanted to find Cid?" an amused voice asked.

Aeris and Sephiroth looked and saw a pilot standing next to them.

"Do you know where he is?" Sephiroth asked.

"Ten-to-one, he's at the Gold Saucer," the young man said, "Whenever he wants to blow off steam, he always watches the Chocobo Races,"

"Gold Saucer, huh?" Sephiroth mused as he looked at the price chart. While he and Aeris were short on money to get them to Midgar, they did have enough money to go to the Gold Saucer _and_ pay the entrance fee.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Aeris asked her husband.

"It's worth a shot," said Sephiroth, "And if we don't find him, we can at least take a vacation there, and when we're done, do some bounty-hunting, get a chocobo, and ride over to Costa Del Sol,"

"Makes sense to me," said Aeris.

"Hey, you three," another pilot pointed at the engineers, "We're about to take off, so you'd better board the plane now!"

"So I guess that means we're off, then," said one of the engineers.

"You have our number programmed?" Aeris pointed at the new PHS the engineers had bought.

"Yep!" another engineer said.

"Call us once you get to the old city," said Aeris, "You'll be able to feel it once you get close,"

"It's been fun," the third engineer said, "I wish you well,"

"See ya!" the first engineer said as the trio walked off.

"Bye!" Keter called as he waved at them.

"So you want to go to Corel, then?" asked the pilot, "I'd be glad to take you,"

Sephiroth handed him the fee. "Any time you're ready to fly us,"

"Go fly?" Keter was excited.

"Yes, we're going to fly," said Sephiroth, "To the Gold Saucer,"

"Wow, I haven't been there since I was a little kid!" Aeris exclaimed, "You think they still have that burrito place?"

* * *

"It's still here!" Aeris squealed as the three walked down the Gold Saucer's food court, "Yes! Can we go in, please, Sephy?"

"You know I hate Papa Yoyo's," Sephiroth groaned, "That food never agrees with me,"

"We'll get it to go!" Aeris yelled as she disappeared into the restaurant with Keter in her arms.

_God, this woman…_Sephiroth thought morosely, _It's like she's seventeen all over again._

He sat down on a bench outside, looking around. They had already checked out the Chocobo Races, but Cid was nowhere to be found. Perhaps he was on his way back home already.

"Hey, come one, come all!" a strange-looking cat robot yelled as it danced by, "The battle tournament starts tomorrow, and is still selling tickets and accepting applicants! Come one, come all to the first annual battle tournament! Sit back and watch the fun, or enter to win up to 100,000 gil!"

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. That could be interesting.

He then sensed something, and his hand shot out, grabbing a wrist that was three inches from his coat pocket.

"Don't even think about it," he said coldly, not even bothering to turn around, "I'm going to let you go, since I'm on vacation and in a decent mood. Also, I can tell by your wrist alone that you're young, and possibly female. I don't hit women, or children. I'm going to let go, and I'm going to give you five seconds to disappear,"

He let go of the wrist, and could hear loud footsteps running fast as he counted out loud:

"One…two…three…"

"Four!" Keter finished as he and Aeris came out of Papa Yoyo's.

"What are you counting for?" Aeris giggled.

"I'm feeling generous," said Sephiroth, "I decided not to thrash a potential pickpocket,"

"Oh, you _are_ a changed man," Aeris kidded him as she sat down and opened the bag of food she'd brought with her.

"I saw something interesting while you were in there," said Sephiroth.

"Oh?" Aeris asked as she sank her teeth into a burrito.

"Mmm!" Keter said as he stared wistfully at his mother's food.

"If he has an accident from that spicy food, _you_ can change him," Sephiroth warned her.

"One bite won't hurt him," Aeris scoffed as she lowered the burrito and allowed Keter to take a bite.

"Mmmm!" Keter said again.

"There's a battle tournament coming up tomorrow, right here," Sephiroth told Aeris, "And I think you and I should both enter,"

"What?" Aeris was surprised, "Why?"

"I think we could win some much-needed cash," said Sephiroth, "It's better than fighting monsters and selling their horns or whatever for little bounties here and there,"

"I don't fight for contests!" Aeris protested, "I work out with Muramasa and my staves to stay in shape, and to protect myself if I need to!"

"Aeris, we need money, and the contest is free to enter," Sephiroth argued, "We've got nothing to lose,"

"Who's going to watch Keter?"

"There's a daycare here," Sephiroth answered.

"He's never had strangers watch him before," Aeris said worriedly.

"For Odin's sake, Aeris!" Sephiroth exclaimed, "He'll be fine! There's never been a scandal at that place except the ones you're probably dreaming up in your head. Look, I'm confident I can win it. But there's a good chance you could end up winning one of the runner-up prizes too,"

Aeris sighed.

"You really think we've got a shot?" she asked.

"Absolutely,"

"Okay, then," she said, "We'll go register, and tomorrow, Keter can make some new little friends. How about that, Keter?"

"Wockie?" the two-year-old asked.

"Yes, Rockie _is_ your friend, but you can make other friends beside her,"

"'Kay," Keter said, clearly uninterested in the conversation.

"Let's go," Aeris sighed.

"Chin up, my dear," Sephiroth said, kissing the top of Aeris' head, "You'll do great,"

* * *

Aeris watched as Sephiroth took the small four-sided room divider and set it up next to Keter's crib. He then took the clock radio from the dresser, and plugged it into the wall near Keter. Turning it on, he set the volume to a classical music station.

"Perfect," he said. The boy was already fast asleep. "If he wakes up, he will not see, nor hear anything. Nor has he ever been an escape artist,"

"Feels sleazy…" Aeris fretted as her husband sat down on the king-sized bed in the hotel room they had rented.

"Feels good…" Sephiroth said as he kissed Aeris, "That's why we're going to 'bed' early like Keter. We'll get nice and tired after a bit…" he kissed her again, "And then we'll fall asleep, and wake up nice and rested for the tournament,"

"So logical…" Aeris teased him as she playfully squeezed Sephiroth's chest.

"Don't worry," Sephiroth whispered in her ear, "I'm feeling good about this tournament. We've fought a lot of monsters before, and we've kept up our training. You will do wonderfully. Maybe we can get that motorcycle for second place,"

"Wait!" Aeris sat up, "That means I'd have to fight you! I don't want to fight you like that! You'll either hold back and patronize me, or you'll actually injure me!"

"Tell you what: we'll think of a secret move that will make me win the fight without really hurting you,"

"You could always throw the fight altogether," Aeris joked.

"I don't see that happening," Sephiroth said flatly.

"I think I should throw the last fight before you," said Aeris, "Neither of us know how to drive a motorcycle, and I don't know if the sidecar is safe for Keter. Third prize is more cash. Why not just go with that?"

Sephiroth looked thoughtful. "Yes…that makes sense. All right, fair enough,"

He then pulled his wife back down to face him.

"We've got three hours to wear ourselves out," he whispered, "Starting now…!"

* * *

Cid Highwind opened his bag of pretzels and began snacking away. The turnout for this event was huge, and he was glad he had gotten good seats.

He had just watched the lovely Pink Phantom wipe out the obnoxious Moogle Ninja. Good. He enjoyed looking at the Pink Phantom's figure. His own girlfriend would never in a million years dress like that.

Now the Silver Angel was up against some forgettable macho man in tight spandex. Cid looked around. Spandex? The crowd here was mostly male. Who on earth would get off on seeing a man dressed like that? He wasn't even like one of those teen heartthrob man-children on TV that the girls all swooned over.

Damn it! He'd missed it again! The Silver Angel was already standing over his defeated opponent.

The Silver Angel was making this tournament into a joke. His victories were of the "blink-and-you'll-miss-it" fashion. Still, the other contestants, such as the Blue Samurai, and of course, the Pink Phantom made the tournament worth it. Even the Moogle Ninja had promise, even though her constant showing off made you love to hate her.

Speak of the devil! The Blue Samurai was up again, this time, facing off against a man wearing a knight's helmet.

He finished his pretzels, and wished that he had a nice cold beer to go with them. Call it stereotypical, but it really was his favorite snack combination. Why couldn't these shows be like the ones in Midgar where alcohol was permitted in the stands?

He then felt his PHS buzzing. Annoyed, he checked it. Shera again. Was she afraid he would cheat or something? Cid may have enjoyed ogling the many beauties here at the Gold Saucer, but he was strictly a "look-not-touch" man when it came to other women. Shera was his sexy librarian waiting for him at home. But right now, she was his pain in the ass.

He shut his PHS off, deciding to keep it off for the rest of the tournament. At the rate things were going, it probably wouldn't be more than half an hour at best.

* * *

"Well, was I right?" Sephiroth asked with a smirk on his face.

He, Aeris and Keter came out of the Gold Saucer Credit Union. 110,000 gil was safely stored in a small lockbox, which was inside Sephiroth's duffel bag. Aeris wore the key on a chain around her neck.

"I didn't need to throw my last fight," Aeris marveled, "That Blue Samurai guy really took me out,"

"He seemed familiar," Sephiroth remarked.

Aeris looked at him. "You think so too? Do you think he was a member of Avalanche?"

"No…I can't put my finger on it,"

"Well, let's see what our next move is,"

"Sephiroth?!"

Sephiroth and Aeris turned around to see a familiar face gawking at them.

"Aeris too!" Cid Highwind exclaimed, "Holy shit!"

"Hey- language!" Aeris scolded Cid as she pointed at Keter, who was holding her hand.

"You're alive!" Cid exclaimed, "Oh god, they said you only had a 5% chance of making it!"

"Yeah, I beat the odds," Aeris said with a smile.

"Where the hell have you been these past five years?" Cid asked.

"Trying to get back here," Aeris said as she covered Keter's ears, "Let's just say it was a long, long journey. With ogres, faeries, rocket ships and rabbit-eared women,"

"What'd Vincent say when he saw you guys?"

"We don't know where he is," said Sephiroth, "Do you?"

"Sure! He's still in Midgar, living in the bed & breakfast, except it's a boarding house now,"

"We tried calling, but the number was out of service,"

"Well, yeah," said Cid, "After the dust settled, reporters were calling, trying to get the scoop. Elmyra had to change the number,"

Aeris grinned. "So Mrs. G's safe too? That's a relief!"

"Actually, that's Mrs. _V_ now," Cid corrected her.

"Mrs. V?" Sephiroth scowled, "Wait- you don't mean…?"

"Yes, she's Mrs. Valentine, and your new step-mommy," Cid answered.

"How about that?" Sephiroth marveled softly.

"Well, you like her, right?" Aeris asked, "I mean, everyone does,"

"She's probably taking good care of him," said Sephiroth, "I'm glad for them both,"

"We were actually looking for you," said Aeris, "Everyone in Rocket Town figured you'd be here watching the races,"

"I came to see the tournament instead," Cid explained, "And I wasn't disappointed either! By the way, congratulations!"

"You know it was us?" Aeris looked surprise.

"I recognized your kid from the award ceremony," Cid pointed at Keter.

"Holy sit!" Keter exclaimed.

"No, Keter!" Aeris scolded the boy, "We don't say those words!"

Keter pointed accusingly at Cid.

"Yes, he was being bad too," Aeris agreed.

"Technically, he did say 'holy _sit_'," Sephiroth quipped.

"Do you want a ride to Midgar?" Cid asked, "I'm still on vacation, and I don't mind bringing good news like this,"

"Would we ever!" Aeris exclaimed happily.

"Perfect," said Cid, "Let's catch the next tram out of here,"

"Hey, does Barrett still live in Corel?" asked Sephiroth, "We didn't see him around,"

"He does, but he's off doing relief work in Gongaga," Cid answered.

"Awwww…" Aeris sulked.

"Most of Avalanche is back in Midgar," Cid told her, "I'm sure Mrs. V still has most of the contacts, so you can let everyone know you're alive soon enough. In the meantime, you guys can tell me everything you've been up to,"

"Got time?" Sephiroth asked dryly as the four headed over to the exit tram.

* * *

Aeris sat on the bed in a cabin on The Highwind reading her new copy of "Melodies of Life". That Zidane was always up to some kind of mischief. Strangely enough, the villain, Kuja, reminded her a bit of Sephiroth. Maybe it was the physical beauty combined with immense power. Had Sephiroth stayed in the labs, and Hojo not been murdered, would he have turned out like Kuja, manipulating and destroying everything and everyone?

Great power tended to be destructive, and even Sephiroth had been destructive in his quest to do good for this world. He had said before that Aeris, and now Keter kept him in check, just as her father had done for him when he was little.

It all made sense, though. Even Kuja had the power to be redeemed, as shown in the book, which she'd read many, many times when she was younger.

Ah, who was she kidding? Kuja was a made-up character. Sephiroth was probably the only "bad boy" that had ever been truly tamed to any degree. She knew that in 99.9% of other similar cases, women who tried to "change" a man like that were idiots who wound up miserable for the rest of the relationship.

So how did she turn out to be so lucky?

"Where Mama?" Aeris heard Keter asking outside.

"We're going to go get her now," Sephiroth told him before entering the room.

"Are we there yet?" Aeris teased.

"Almost," Sephiroth told her, "Midgar's up ahead. Would you like to come up on deck and see?"

Aeris smiled and put her book back in her bag. She stood up and followed Sephiroth outside the room, down the hallway and up the steps.

"Over there," Sephiroth pointed.

Aeris ran to the front of the deck and saw the plate of Midgar approaching. She broke out into a big grin.

"Look over there, Keter," said Sephiroth as he pointed at the plate. The night lights were up as usual, illuminating the city in the nighttime sky. But the one thing Aeris and Sephiroth couldn't help but notice was the absence of the reactors.

"Pretty…" Keter cooed.

"Yeah, it _is_ really pretty," whispered Aeris, "Especially without the mako reactors,"

"Was it worth it?" Sephiroth asked as he picked Keter up.

"Absolutely," said Aeris, her eyes welling up, "I can't wait to see Vincent. I can't wait to tell Mama and Papa that we _did_ make a difference!"

"We're going to be okay here," her husband said confidently.

"Of course," Aeris said with a big smile, "We're finally home,"

The End

* * *

A/N: FINALLY FINISHED! Now if you haven't already, feel free to start reading Spark of Sedition, which I will now be picking up again.


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